|
This figure is situated on the Norman Abbey in Romsey. the current
church is the third to stand on the site but has been a place of worship for
at least 1000 years going back to Saxon times. Romsey Abbey is widely regarded
as one of the best examples of Norman church architecture still standing.
A Sheela with objects
This sheela is unusual in that it is accompanied by a number of objects.
The figure holds a crooked staff which has been interpreted as a crozier. The staff is said to indicate that the
figure is meant to be the abbess. There is also a hard to identify object in
the figure's left hand which has been identified as shears. However Richard N
Bailey examined this figure close up on scaffolding and dismissed this
interpretation in his paper Apotropaic Figures in Milan and North-West
England (point 12). As you can see in the photograph on the left the object
does not appear very scissor like. The figure straddles what appears to be a now
damaged bowl. The vulva is indicated by a small
notch and is not very prominent.
The Nun on the Potty
The figure was known locally by schoolchildren1 in the past as "The nun
on the potty" this is probably due to the fact that there appears to be
something between the figures splayed legs. This object appears to be a damaged
pot hence the local name for it. Indeed the figure may be a combination
of exhibitionist and an "at stool" figure although there does not
appear to be any sign of a stool.
A Miserly Sheela?
Whereas
it's very hard to determine what the unidentified object is, my personal
theory is that it's a purse ring . See Melbourne
Church's Miser Figure
for an example of a purse ring. In December 2006 I revisted Melbourne
and took some more detailed pictures of the "miser" figure and found
that the object that the figure was holding actually included what
seems to be the sack of the purse as well. If you compare the Romsey
figure to the Melbourne one they both seem to be holding what appear to
be very similar objects. This would seem to fit into the alleged
satirical nature of the carving as the purse ring is used in Romanesque
carving to indicate miserliness. This would mean that carving has
been used to imortalise the abbess's niggardliness possibly in paying
the sculptors. However there a problems with this theory in that the
purse ring is usually depicted as a open D shape which the object only
just resembles. We should also be a little wary of the satirical
explanation as this is one frequently used to explain rude or out of
place carvings on churches. A similar story is told about the Kilpeck
figure and many other anomalous (to our eyes) church carvings. One
odd fact is
that the carving was originally in position where it could not be
seen easily. This begs the question could this be a genuine example of
a "mason's
joke". There are however a number of features that would argue
against the satirical nature. The carving is not a quick piece of graffiti
but a well carved and detailed panel. It would have taken a significant
amount of time to carve taking a sculptor away from other more visible and
authorised work. As with most speculation on these figures the fact is we
will never really know.
John Harding
|
|
Victorian birthing corbel adjacent to the Sheela na gig figure
Unlike most church sculpture we have
a likely sculptor for this corbel as he has kindly left his
signature on the side of the figure. The name Ellery is fairly easy
to make out with a possible date of 1865 below. A Thomas Ellery is
recorded in Harrod & Co.'s Directory of Hampshire & Isle of
Wight, 1865 "Thomas ELLERY, stone and marble mason, Middle Bridge street,
Romsey". Unfortunately only Ellery is clear with some scratches possibly
indicating initials. It's thought that this corbel is a replacement for an
original romanesque corbel of a similar design.
|
Romsey Abbey. The arrow indicates the position of
the sheela na gig carving. The birthing corbel is on the adjacent lower corbel
table.
|
