The Fitzwilliam Museum - University of Cambridge

The Head of John the Baptist on a Dish
English, probably Nottingham, 15th century
Alabaster, with remnants of
painting and gilding.
H. 29 x W. 23.5 cm
M.2–2004
Purchased from the Boscawen
Fund and with grants from the
National Art Collections Fund
and the MLA/V&A Purchase
Grant Fund.
This powerful image of St John the
Baptist's head on a dish supported by
angels would have provided a focus for
the private devotions of its owner, and
may have been housed in a wooden case,
whose painted doors were opened while
he or she was at prayer. Alabaster
carvings were an important aspect of late
medieval English art, and were exported
widely to the Continent. Much of the
best alabaster was quarried in the area
between Tutbury in Staffordshire and
Chellaston near Derby, and Nottingham,
some 15 to 20 miles further east, became
a major centre for the production of
religious figures, altarpieces, and panels.
Local documents contain many records of
the alabasterers' activity, including
references to panels showing the head of
St John the Baptist, which seems to have
been a Nottingham speciality in the late
fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries.
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Major Acquisitions