Object of Devotion: Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture from the Victoria and Albert Museum Paperback January 11, 2011

by Paul Williamson

During the later Middle Ages, England had a thriving art industry that produced religious alabaster sculptures in large numbers and exported them to virtually every country in Europe. Despite the success and scale of this industry, however, English alabasters have remained a neglected art form. Alabaster is a remarkable and attractive material for a sculptor to work with. It is a fine-grained, rare form of gypsum, superficially resembling marble, but with a softer, deeper translucent glow and a creamy, yellow-ochre finish. Because the material was soft and easy to carve, and was found in large quantities beneath the soil of the English Midlands, medieval English sculptors worked this mineral resource extensively from the late fourteenth century until the Reformation in the 1530s, creating lively, spirited reliefs for altarpieces and devotional figures.

Object of Devotion examines the creation and use of medieval alabaster sculpture in England and throughout Europe and its lasting influence on the art historical canon. This book will appeal to museum audiences, art lovers, scholars, and researchers interested in medieval art and culture.

Object of Devotion Exhibition

December 2, 2010 - January 16, 2011 Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, Florida

February 5 - May 15, 2011 Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine

September 3 - November 13, 2011 Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, Texas

December 3, 2011 - February 12, 2012 Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, New Jersey

March 3 - May 13, 2012 Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo, Michigan

Unknown Binding

First published January 11, 2011

Reviews

[JD Waggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

To be fair, the book is beautiful. Full color glossed photos of each piece in the traveling collection make my dear little medievalist heart patter, even after I saw the real things. But the editing is SO BAD, which is why I knocked off a star. There are typos all over the place and one entry is even missing its inset figure. How did the editors skip that? It's sort of important, given that it's referenced at least three times through the other items. Fail, editors.
The book itself really is pretty, though, and a good catalogue even if you haven't seen the exhibit proper. Each description is pretty bare-bones and repetitive, but the reference list at the back is very helpful if you want to track down some tidbit or other, and the three articles at the beginning are wonderful in terms of being interesting without being overwhelmingly scholarly. (And, seriously, [author=Eamon Duffy]. Win.)
As a medievalist and church history person, this is good for me to have (especially because it acted as my textbook for a class recently). But if you're looking for a good coffee table book and aren't too picky about correct spelling, this works for you, too. Because it's just so pretty.

[Terence Gallagher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautifully made book that documents a travelling exhibition of English alabaster works on loan from the Victoria and Albert Museum. The works were executed in the 14th to 16th centuries and were displayed in churches and in private homes for private devotions. For the composition of the scenes and the expressiveness of the actors within them, they have a unique charm which is a delight to look at. The documentation is clear, succinct, and for the most part enlightening. I will say this though: more and more when I read art historians talking about medieval Christian religious practice and belief, they seem to be two steps removed from what they're talking about, as if they are merely commenting on other art historians.