The Apostles Speaking in Tongues Lit by Their Own Lamps

This artwork of terracotta figures by Nicholas Pope is currently situated in the Trinity Chapel at Salisbury Cathedral.

The Apostles Speaking in Tongues Lit by Their Own Lamps is a dramatic re-enactment of events narrated in the New Testament. On the Jewish feast of the Pentacost, the Holy Spirit was said to have come upon the Apostles in Jerusalem enabling them to speak in tongues to all those present. The Holy Spirit descends amidst a ‘rushing mighty wind’ and appears in the form of ‘cloven tongues of fire’. Nicholas Pope’s Apostles are likewise the bearers of fire. Made in brick clay of earth-colours, each figure supports a primitive oil-lamp backed by a halo of beaten metal. The lamps provide a pulsating glow which is reflected from the polished metal.

Just like individuals who make up the average Anglican community – the clergy, the parish council, the parishioners – the twelve apostles came from ordinary walks of life, from agriculture, teaching, the world of commerce. Like members of the congregation, some were good and trusting souls, others turned out to be less wholesome. Pope doesn’t take a neutral view of the twelve. His figures are breathtaking and imposing but at the same time they include aspects of the hideous and the comical. Each figure is identified by his attributes: Doubting Thomas sports trunk-like bloodsucking appendages; Mathew, a tax-collector, carries a heavy paunch while the two-faced Judas has fleshy protruding lips.*

Acts 2:1-6:

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak his own language.

*From a Salisbury Cathedral leaflet on the exhibition

Wallington

The stone heads on the lawn in front of Wallington capture ones eye as you drive past.  Depending on which source you read they are either Dragons of Gryphens.  With only the heads on display the jury is out…

But where did they come from?

Four griffins’ heads with protruding eyes, large ears, snarling mouths and hair sprouting from under their jowls.
The heads originally belonged to griffins on the medieval gate at Bishopsgate, London, which was demolished in 1761.(1) An engraving at Wallington Hall shows how they looked in the early eighteenth century.(2) The story goes that they arrived in Northumberland as ballast in one of the coal boats belonging to the Blacketts, the great coaland lead-mining family that owned Wallington Hall.(3) It is not known when exactly this was but certainly by 1789 the heads were part of the motley array of objects decorating Rothley Castle, the eighteenth-century Gothic eyecatcher and viewing-point which David Garrett designed for Sir Walter Calverley c.1755 to stand in his newly laid-out deerpark at Rothley Park, five miles to the north of Wallington.

In 1928 the heads were moved from Rothley Castle to Wallington.

Meet Douglas

Douglas is carved from a 140-year-old fallen pine within in the grounds of the Cragside Estate. The artwork was created by Tommy Craggs from Durham.

The latest edition of the National Trust Magazine provides a brief news snippet:

Tree carvings can be seen in places ranging from inner-city Victorian parks to the great landscapes of the National Trust.  We would like your help to track them down.  Please send pictures and comments to us as part of a project that includes members of the National Trust, the Woodland Trust, the Arboricultural Association and the Ancient Tree forum.
http://www.ukeconet.org

In a previous post I blogged about an owl sculpture within the formal gardens at Cragside.

The Journey

This sculpture stands inside The Parish Church of St Mary, Lindisfarne:

In the south aisle stands the imposing statue known as The Journey, depicting the monks of Lindisfarne carrying St.Cuthbert’s body on the first stage of its journey to Durham and is probably the first thing to catch the visitor’s eye. The sculpture is an acclaimed work of Dr Fenwick Lawson made up of 35 piece of elmwood, carved principally with a chain-saw. This has been loaned to St Mary’s Church and a bronze copy has been placed in the Millennium Square in Durham, thus marking the start and finishing places of the journey of St Cuthbert’s coffin between 698 and c920.

52 Photos Project – Gallery 25 – Starts with a C

…Cuthbert of Farne.

Cuthbert became prior of Lindisfarne in 664, but decided to move to a quieter life of solitude on the island of Inner Farne:

Lindisfarne Priory on Holy Island is one of the most important early centres of Christianity in Anglo-Saxon England. Founded in 635 and home to a small number of monks, it was to become a shrine when the body of Cuthbert was exhumed 11 years after his burial and found undecayed. Cuthbert was an exceedingly Holy man who became the prior of Lindisfarne in 664 but left for a life of solitude on the island of Inner Farne. He became bishop of Lindisfarne in 685. Fleeing from the Viking raids, the community of monks left Lindisfarne with the body of Cuthbert in 875, re-establishing St Cuthbert’s shrine at Chester-le-street and then in Durham in 995.

Fenwick Lawson’s original sculpture, ‘Cuthbert of Farne’ was carved from an elm tree in 1983 and stood in the cloisters of Durham Cathedral where it was seen by many millions of visitors. In 1999, the Northern Rock Foundation commissioned the artist to cast Cuthbert of Farne in bronze. This sculpture depicts a contemplative Cuthbert, reflecting his religious life and desire for solitude. His interlaced hands echo the stillness and peace he sought, whilst an eider duck broods in sanctuary at his feet.  Lindisfarne itself is also portrayed, with echoes of the many rugged elements of the island on which he lived.*

More C inspiration can be found in the gallery.

*From English Heritage guidebook 2002 and promotional leaflets 2013.

52 Photos Project – Gallery 24 – Seasonal Colour (Gold)

More Gold can be found in the gallery.

The Lion Monument

The Lion Monument is one of the Lucerne tourist attractions. The sculpture of a dying lion pierced by a spear is a monument to the Swiss Guards of Louis XVI of France:

On 10 August 1792, the guards defended the Palais des Tuileries, in Paris. When it was stormed by revolutionaries. Those who survived the attack were arrested and guillotined on the night of 2-3 September.

The Lowendenkmal, or Lion Monument was carved out of the sandstone cliff face by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorwaldsen, and it was inveiled in 1821.*

*From The Eyewitness Travel Guide to Switzerland.

Stag

Wall Details

At the Foot of the Stair