English alabasters represent a unique contribution to medieval art. Less sophisticated, perhaps, than other contemporary forms of religious art, they were a neglected area of study until this volume was first published in 1984.
Stories from the New Testament and The Golden Legend were the most favoured subjects, and the numerous examples that survive in churches and museums throughout Europe attest to their wide and enduring appeal. Francis Cheetham examines here all aspects of their production and demonstrates how the panels and altarpieces can aid our understanding of life and devotional practice in medieval times.
At the heart of this fascinating study is a richly illustrated catalogue of the 260 examples in the collection of London's Victoria and Albert Museum: a collection "so comprehensive that it would be possible to write a survey of the subject almost without recourse to pieces elsewhere," as Sir Roy Strong notes in his Foreword. Their division into subject categories is an invaluable aid to identification and classification.
Francis Cheetham is an acknowledged expert on medieval English alabasters, and this reissue of his classic work will be welcomed by historians, art historians, collectors and dealers alike, taking its place alongside his Alabaster Images of Medieval England which was published by the Boydell Press in 2003.
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