LATE 15TH OR EARLY 16TH CENTURY

Details

AN EAST ANGLIAN CARVED OAK PEW END
LATE 15TH OR EARLY 16TH CENTURY
Carved with a Cockatrice finial on panelled frame, one side with a relief of foliage
33in. (84cm.) high

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Lot Essay

The Cockatrice or Basilisk was a popular form of church ornament in church furniture. It has the head and wings of a cock and the tail of a serpent. In mythology it was hatched by a toad from the egg of a seven year old cock. It was believed the best way to meet such a beast was using a mirror so that the beast died upon seeing its' reflection. Examples can be seen at Tostock, Ixworth Thorpe, Wimbotsham and Stowlangtoft. See Arthur Gardner, Minor English Wood Sculpture, 1400-1550 1958.

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