Details

LOT 0418

Medieval Limestone 'Pictish Type' Fish Carving

CIRCA 15TH-16TH CENTURY A.D. OR EARLIER

20 in. (24 kg total, 51 cm wide including stand).

Rectangular block with high-relief carving to the upper face, comprising two fishes placed side-by-side, one with heavy scale detailing, the other with a bifurcated tail; mounted on a custom-made display stand.

Provenance

Discovered in part of a stone garden wall during demolition.
Ex Stamford deceased estate, Lincolnshire, UK.
Property of a Cambridgeshire, UK, gentleman.

Footnotes

The carving style bears similarities to the low-relief carvings on Pictish picture stones, although a close match for the subject matter is absent. A stone recorded at Dunnicaer, Scotland, is carved with a fish symbol but its execution is very sparse and linear in comparison with the heavy detailing of the present piece. See Noble, G., The Problem with the Picts, in Current Archaeology, issue 134, June 2020.