{"product_id":"medieval-heraldic-encaustic-tile-royal-queen-14th-century","title":"Medieval Heraldic Encaustic Floor Tile, Royal Portrait of a Crowned Queen - 14th Century","description":"\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA rare lead-glazed Medieval earthenware floor tile depicting the three-quarter bust of a crowned female figure, conventionally identified as a \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003equeen\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, enclosed within a lobe formed by double concentric lines. This design belongs to the well-documented corpus of medieval floor tiles from \u003cstrong\u003eArtois\u003c\/strong\u003e, closely corresponding to examples excavated at \u003cstrong\u003eHermelinghen\u003c\/strong\u003e (No. 183) and \u003cstrong\u003eThérouanne\u003c\/strong\u003e (No. 304), where it is associated with a companion tile depicting a crowned male bust. Together these formed part of a decorative programme of repeating royal or noble portraits\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBusts of crowned figures constitute one of the most distinctive decorative themes in fourteenth-century Artois tile production. While male heads are comparatively standardised, female figures display greater variation in pose, hairstyle and costume, reflecting contemporary courtly fashions. This figure is shown with her hair drawn back into a bun contained within a hairnet or tasselled coiffure, secured beneath an elaborate headdress by a braided cord. She wears a fur-trimmed tunic fastened at the neck and a collar of lozenge-shaped jewels, while her crown is ornamented with a central cabochon. The refined modelling and carefully observed costume exemplify the sophisticated figural tile production of northern France during the fourteenth century. Jean Boucard has suggested that the coiffure represented here corresponds to fashions of approximately \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1365–1370\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, although securely excavated examples indicate that the motif belongs more broadly within the later fourteenth century. Related crowned female heads are also known from \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eSaintonge\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBress-Allonnes\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, demonstrating artistic connections between northern and western France, while comparable crowned busts appear on medieval tiles in the collections of the \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eBritish Museum\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e and \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCanterbury Museums\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e, attesting to the widespread influence of this iconography.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"isSelectedEnd\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe depiction of crowned heads was not confined to ceramic decoration. Contemporary documentary evidence records that the apartments of \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCount Robert II at Hesdin Castle\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cspan\u003e were ornamented with rows of sculpted plaster heads crowned with gilded metal circlets, illustrating the broader medieval taste for architectural decoration celebrating royal and noble authority. Tiles such as the present example formed part of this visual language, bringing heraldic and courtly imagery into the richly decorated interiors of aristocratic and ecclesiastical buildings.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAn unusually well-modelled and evocative example of French Gothic floor tile production, preserving one of the most distinctive figural motifs of the medieval Artois tradition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ec14th century, Northern France.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12.1cm : \u003cem\u003eabout 1.8cm thick\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eUK shipping included.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCondition: Broken in two and sympathetically restored. Chips and some lose of glaze. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eLiterature: \u003cstrong data-start=\"48\" data-end=\"86\"\u003eCarette, Martine \u0026amp; Derœux, Didier.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003cem data-start=\"87\" data-end=\"164\"\u003eCarreaux de pavement médiévaux de Flandre et d'Artois (XIIIe–XIVe siècles).\u003c\/em\u003e Arras: Commission départementale d'Histoire et d'Archéologie du Pas-de-Calais, 1985 p.72\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Antique Ceramics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":63897902809465,"sku":null,"price":1150.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0914\/3713\/8297\/files\/medieval-heraldic-encaustic-floor-tile-royal-portrait-hermelinghen-queen-14th-century-1.png?v=1783503916","url":"https:\/\/antiqueceramics.co.uk\/products\/medieval-heraldic-encaustic-tile-royal-queen-14th-century","provider":"Antique Ceramics","version":"1.0","type":"link"}