Apotropaic Figures in Milan and North-West England
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8934269 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Richard N Bailey (Newcastle University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1983 |
| Volume | 94 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 113-117 |
| Publication date | 1983-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Folklore (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0015-587X • E-ISSN: 1469-8315 |
| Publisher | Routledge (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/0015587x.1983.9716263 |
| OpenAlex | W2022322298 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
DR. J. ANDERSEN's publication The Witch on the Wall (1977) filled a longrecognised gap in the study of medieval British sculpture. Not only does his book provide a near-complete corpus of sheela-na-gigs but, by paying close attention to the contexts in which these figures were found, he offers attractive solutions to the problems of their date and meaning. There can no longer be any doubt that these carvings are work of the post-Conquest period, and there are good chronological and stylistic reasons for seeing them as an eccentric reflex of the acrobatic figures of romanesque art.' The purpose of this paper is to draw attention to two examples of this kind of sculpture from north-west England which were not included in Andersen's lists [pls. 1 and 2]. They thus add another area to the known distribution of sheelas, but more significant is the fact that one of these figures carries an iconographic emblem which is closely paralleled on a stone from twelfth-century Milan. This link to an Italian carving not only strengthens Andersen's case for comparing sheela-na-gigs with conventional romanesque sculptures, but also further confirms his view that they are primarily apotropaic in function-a matter on which there has been considerable debate.2
Archaeology · Art · Art history · Carving · Emblem · Literature · Meaning (existential · Sculpture · Historical and Religious Studies of Rome · History · Medieval Architecture and Archaeology · Medieval Literature and History · Philosophy
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,14 |
| Citation span | 2012 - 2020 (9) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |