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THREE LATE FIFTEENTH- EARLY SIXTEENTH-CENTURY CHAPEL FURNISHINGS BELONGING TO THE EDGCUMBE FAMILY IN CORNWALL

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 April 2024

Nicola Jane Gentle*
Affiliation:
Nicola Jane Gentle, 27 Stuart Road, Exeter EX1 2SZ, UK. Email: nicola@nicolage.plus.com

Abstract

This study documents three chapel furnishings dating from around 1500 belonging to the Edgcumbe family at Cotehele, Cornwall, south-west England, and discusses their survival during the Protestant Reformation and beyond. The textiles were exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries of London by W H St John Hope, FSA and the text of his presentation was published in the Proceedings of the Society in 1912–13. The present article brings together the numerous other historic writings concerning the textiles. Their possible origins are explored and assessed in context with pieces of similar date. Observations of their original making and later changes are recorded, while interpretations by historians of this period are put forward for consideration. The rarity of survival of the textiles and their documented history is acknowledged.

Type
Research paper
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society of Antiquaries of London

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References

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