Tomb Effigy of a Recumbent Knight from the Abbey of Sainte-Marie, La Genevraye, Lower Normandy

Gallery 315, European Art 1100-1500, third floor

Main Building

Tomb Effigy of a Recumbent Knight from the Abbey of Sainte-Marie, La Genevraye, Lower Normandy

1230-1240

Artist/maker unknown, French

This tomb effigy may represent a member of the noble du Merle family. A seventeenth-century description of the sculpture identified the knight as François du Merle, who founded the abbey of Sainte-Marie in La Genevraye, France, around 1160. The birds carved on the shield are heraldic figures known as martlets (or merle in French), perhaps a punning reference to the family name. However, the coat of arms used by the du Merle family in later centuries does not include birds and so the connection remains tentative. The description mentioned above also states that the sculpture was placed on a two-foot-high base decorated with coats of arms that likely signaled the distinguished ancestry of the deceased.

Gallery 315, European Art 1100-1500, third floor

Object Details

Title:

Tomb Effigy of a Recumbent Knight from the Abbey of Sainte-Marie, La Genevraye, Lower Normandy

Date:

1230-1240

Artist:

Artist/maker unknown, French

Medium:

Limestone

Dimensions:

13 9/16 inches × 70 5/16 inches × 23 inches (34.4 × 178.6 × 58.4 cm)

Classification:

Sculpture

Credit Line:

Purchased with Museum funds from the George Grey Barnard Collection, 1945

Accession Number:

1945-25-72

Geography:

Made in Normandy, France, Europe

We are always open to learning more about our collections and updating the website. Does this record contain inaccurate information or language that you feel we should improve or change? Contact us here.

Please note that this particular artwork might not be on view when you visit. Don’t worry—we have plenty of exhibitions for you to explore.

Gallery 315, European Art 1100-1500, third floor

Main Building

Museum map