Sculpture Cataloguing
OBJECTS IN FOCUS
Sculpture Cataloguing
The College ’ s various sculptures , widely dispersed around the school , are perhaps the least well-studied part of the collections . While the figures and misericords that form part of the original fabric of the College have long been recognised as among the most important ensembles of late medieval sculpture in England , the numerous pieces commissioned and acquired in subsequent centuries have so far received little attention . The recent cataloguing of our sculptures for the ArtUK project has provided a welcome opportunity to examine these more closely , a process that has led to some interesting discoveries and raised questions for future research .
Wax profile of William of Wykeham , late 18th or early 19th century ( AS69 )
Marble relief of a musical angel , late 15th century ( AS102 )
Lead cast of a bishop , 17th or 18th century ( AS3 )
The relief of a musical angel in the Chapel bell chamber was given to the College in 1938 by the widow of Frederick Leverton Harris ( Chernocke House , 1878 – 81 ), a businessman and Conservative MP . Harris assembled an important collection of medieval and Renaissance works of art , many pieces from which are now in the Fitzwilliam Museum and the V & A . A letter from Harris ’ widow records that he purchased the sculpture in Sicily ( perhaps at Palermo , where he is known to have acquired a marble Pietà now in Cambridge ). The angel at Winchester appears to date from the late 1400s . Stylistically , it is similar to the work of Domenico Gagini ( c . 1425-30 – 1492 ), the leading sculptor in Palermo at the end of the 15 th century , but more research is required before its authorship can be established .
In November 1762 , John Stuart , 3rd Earl of Bute , wrote to Headmaster Burton offering to present the College with a ‘ Bronze of your great Eminent Founder William of Wickham ’ ( left ). Bute had recently been appointed Prime Minister , the first Tory to hold the post . His son , John , was a Commoner at Winchester , and Bute gave the figure ‘ to the Gentlemen of that Society … as a Testimony of the Esteem and Respect I have for them ’. Remarkably , the College archives contain a copy of part of the correspondence between Bute and the dealer from whom he purchased the sculpture , in which it is described as a bronze figure of William of Wykeham , dating from the 14 th century . In fact , the figure appears to be a lead cast made at a much later date , and it is doubtful whether the subject is actually Wykeham ; it has no distinctive features in common with other representations of the founder .
Another image of the founder , a wax profile made in the late 18 th or early 19 th century ( above ), provided the most exciting discovery of all . On the reverse is an inscription by William Wordsworth , which reads :‘ To the Wintonians / J + Christopher
Inscription on reverse with Wordsworth ' s signature ( AS69 )
Wordsworth / from / their affectionate uncle / Wm Wordsworth / Rydal Mount / 14 September 1822 ’. John Wordsworth ( 1805 – 39 ) and Christopher Wordsworth ( 1807 – 85 ) were the sons of Christopher Wordsworth ( 1774 – 1846 ), Master of Trinity College , Cambridge and youngest brother of William . Christopher became Second Master at Winchester and later Bishop of Lincoln . In 1874 he gave the wax to Martin White Benson ( 1860 – 78 ), a few months before he entered Winchester . Benson died of tubercular meningitis at the age of 17 , and there is a memorial brass to him in the College ’ s Cloisters .
Richard Foster
To see our sculpture collection online , visit ArtUK . org .
8 Winchester College Collections 2019 – 20