Awaiting location update
Titles
Panel carved with a figure of a man sitting in the top of a tree
Maker(s)
Maker:
Unknown
Entities
Categories
Description
Oak, carved and painted wood. Carved with a figure of a man sitting in the top of a tree, he grips a bough with his left hand, his right resting on the same branch, he is being spoken to by an angel in the right hand corner. Beside the trunk stands a young man, who holds in his left hand an axe, clasping a chopped off branch with his right. His right foot rests on a shortened branch, his left on the ground. At the base of the tree is an axe with a broken shaft and in the bottom left hand corner a small house. There is a lettered panel top and bottom and scrolls on the two sides: top panel, MAT(HU)SALE(H) BILD A/HVS; left and right scrolls, IVO BILD A HOV(SE) VORS(ELF) and BR(IN)G VI MIAS BOI SA??; and bottom panel, FATHER HOLD Y AX
Notes
History note: Bequeathed by an elderly King's Lynn lady to Fred Partridge (solicitor, died 1929). Given to W. Leake (Boynton House, Hunstanton, Norfolk) by the daughters of F. Partridge.
Legal notes
Given by Walter Leake
Measurements and weight
Height: 18 1/8 in
Width: 9 3/4 in
Acquisition and important dates
Method of acquisition: Given
(1953)
by
Leake, Walter
Dating
16th Century
Henry VII
Henry VIII
Circa
1500
-
1550
People, subjects and objects depicted
Project
Components of the work
Decoration
composed of
paint
Materials used in production
Oak
Techniques used in production
Carving
: Oak panel, carved and painted
Inscription or legends present
Inscription present: the lettering at the top seems to be spoken by the angel 'Methuselah build a house'
- Text: MAT(HU)SALE(H) BILD A/HVS
- Location: Top of panel
Inscription present: right and left scrolls spoken by Methuselah to the boy (possibly his grandson Noah), seem to be 'I will build a house for us - Bring up my axe boy'
- Text: IVO BILD A HOV(SE) VORS(ELF) and BR(IN)G VI MIAS BOI SA??
- Location: Right and left scrolls
Inscription present: words spoken by the boy to his father, 'Father hold or behold the axe'
- Text: FATHER HOLD Y AX
- Location: Bottom of panel
Related exhibitions
Identification numbers
Accession number: M.4-1953
Primary reference Number: 30035
External ID: CAM_CCF_M_4_1953
Stable URI
Audit data
Created: Saturday 6 August 2011
Updated: Monday 18 December 2023
Last processed: Monday 18 December 2023
Associated departments & institutions
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Applied Arts
