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A PAIR OF ENGLISH CARVED MARBLE AND PARCEL GILT MODELS OF ANGELS FROM THE BODLEY REREDOS OF ST.PAUL'S CATHEDRAL

DESIGNED BY GEORGE FREDERICK BODLEY, CIRCA 1886-1888

Details

A PAIR OF ENGLISH CARVED MARBLE AND PARCEL GILT MODELS OF ANGELS FROM THE BODLEY REREDOS OF ST.PAUL'S CATHEDRAL
DESIGNED BY GEORGE FREDERICK BODLEY, CIRCA 1886-1888
The winged angels, modelled seated and clad in flowing drapery, supporting scrolled carved shields faintly inscribed with text, with gilt-heightened decoration to the hair and wings, on square integral bases, restoration and losses
42 in. (107 cm.) high; 24 in. (61 cm.) long

Provenance

St Paul's Cathedral, London, 1888-circa 1945 (removed following wartime bombing in 1940).
Bonhams, New York, 29 November 2005, lots 16-17.

Special notice

All sold and unsold lots marked with a filled square in the catalogue that are not cleared from Christie’s by 5:00 pm on the day of the sale, and all sold and unsold lots not cleared from Christie’s by 5:00 pm on the fifth Friday following the sale, will be removed to the warehouse of ‘Cadogan Tate’. Please note that there will be no charge to purchasers who collect their lots within two weeks of this sale.

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Lot Essay

This pair of angels originally flanked the pediment on the reredos (or screen) which stood behind the High Altar of St Paul's Cathedral in London. The reredos, which was designed by the celebrated Victorian architect George Frederick Bodley and constructed by the firm of Farmer and Brindley, was one of the most important decorative schemes of the age. It was the cause of much controversy when it was unveiled, when a group of conservative Protestants branded the monument superstitious and embarked on legal proceedings to have it removed. The reredos survived, and, in the wake of the court case, became a major visitor attraction. During the Blitz of 1940 it suffered wartime bomb damage necessitating its dismantling.

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