The auction of Fine Interiors features a late 15th century carved marble female standing figure of the Virgin (lot 39, est. £1,000-1,500), she wears a crown, is dressed in a long draped dress and has flowers in her hair, and she was possibly once holding lilies – from the 14th century the lily was associated with depictions of the Annunciation and from many centuries earlier the flower symbolised purity.
It is thought that this statue could date from the period soon after the founding of Magdalen College, Oxford, by William Waynflete, Bishop of Winchester, in 1458. The college buildings were set out in 1474 and incorporated some of those from St John’s Hospital which previously occupied the site, the 13thc. chapel of the Hospital is still incorporated in the range fronting the street. In 1475 William Orchard, a mason, was contracted to work on the West window of the Chapel, other parts of the Chapel, the Cloister windows and the towers and by 1480 the college was occupied.
It is possible that the sculptor Patrick Conoley created a new statue for Magdalen College to replace our female figure in marble, although it is not known where in the college our statue might have originally stood. Over a period of 11 years from 1971 Conoley designed and carved over 150 sculptures for Magdalen, many of these were to replace damaged or weathered early pieces. He started carving in stone at the age of 14 and on leaving school took up an apprenticeship with the renowned firm of R L Boulton & Sons in Cheltenham. Over the course of his career Conoley produced hundreds of wooden and stone sculptures for buildings, churches and cathedrals throughout the world, and he also worked on the restoration of Blenheim Palace, Woodstock.
In the name of research The Pedestal went to Oxford and headed for Magdalen College, where we were drawn to the Hall. From college records we know that by January 1479 the mason William Orchard had completed various other work at Magdalen and was able to turn his attention to the ashlar for the buttresses and the battlements of the Hall (as well those for the Chapel and the Library). Atop each of the Hall buttresses is a statue, and bearing in mind their condition, size and design, we think that one of them might possibly have been the replacement for our 15th century figure.
Moving on from Magdalen College, and just under a mile away, our next stop was the church of St Mary Magdalen, a Grade I listed building standing in an isolated position on a traffic island at the south end of St. Giles and close to the Martyrs’ Memorial. The church dates from 1194 when St. Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln, replaced a single-aisle chapel erected after a fire in 1074 which had destroyed the original Saxon wooden church. Although in a central Oxford location and used regularly for worship and other activities, it would be fair to say that St. Mary Magdalen is currently in a state of decayed splendour.
The church was restored in 1841-42 – a young, and as yet, unknown architect George Gilbert Scott and his partner W B Moffatt worked on the north aisle of the church, where they created the first Gothic Revival interior in Oxford. The north aisle is known as the Martyrs’ Aisle as it complements his Martyrs’ Memorial closeby. In 1913 four statues were produced for the niches in the south façade of the church, the identity of the sculptor is not known, but Maria could have been designed whilst our female figure was still in situ and on view at Magdalen College. There are subtle resemblances between the two pieces, and both carry a single branch of flowers in their right hand, likely to be lilies. Arts & Crafts was at its height in 1913, and the dress and overall appearance of Maria and her companions at St Mary Magdalen, as with the movement itself, are clearly influenced by the aesthetics of the Middle Ages.
Fine Interiors Including Joanna Booth: The Discerning Eye | Early Textiles, Sculpture, Furniture and Old Master Drawings
Tuesday 5th July 2022 1pm
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