The Society of Antiquaries of London

I mean, we've all been there with magic runes, can't help it if things get a touch lethal.

The handwritten text is adorned with decorated initials as well as drawings of plant motifs. Morris's translation from the Icelandic Egil's Saga was first published by May Morris in 1936

The first page of the translated saga, with floral motifs as decoration in the margins.

For #WorldBookDay we're highlighting one of William Morris’s calligraphic manuscripts on Icelandic sagas. Pictured here, unfinished, is his translation of Egil’s Saga. Egil's Saga is an Icelandic saga on the lives of the clan of Egil Skallagrímsson, an Icelandic farmer, viking and skald (poet).

I can't promise anything...

Just a little nibble...

We can only dream how delightfully tasty this 136-year-old fragment of an antiquarian's breakfast must be.

Whilst travelling in Holland & Germany in 1890, he kept an account of the historic buildings he visited, the local customs he observed & of his breakfasts! Thomas was a BIG fan of breakfast, to the extent that he actually glued a sample of a particularly nice piece of breakfast beef to his notebook

A surprising and unique discovery was made in our Library by Sophie, a Masters student in Archiving and Records Management at UCL, while cataloguing the travel notebooks of Joseph Thomas Fowler, a late Victorian clergyman, scholar of Hebrew and antiquarian.

A notebook with a written account of a breakfast eaten along with a sample of the beef eaten.

Do you like breakfast? Do you like breakfast so much you'd stick samples of it in your notebook? Joseph Thomas Fowler would!

It is still not known how the treasures were used when they were abandoned – whether they were being worn as intended or being carried specifically as portable bullion.

How the personal adornments would be worn has also prompted discussion as the torque, made up of twisted silver wire, is of a size that that could be worn either around the arm or around the neck.

Although now described as Viking, there has in the past been some suggestion that the pieces were of Roman design, with production in ninth-century Ireland (an opinion prompted by the decorative design of the brooch) being a further possibility.

These personal adornments represent some of the more abstruse artefacts in our collection, with opinions varying as to their origin.

Silver torc (torque) found with penannular brooch at Orton Scar, Westmorland, 1847.

Silver penannular brooch, found with torque at Orton Scar, Westmorland, in 1847.

This Viking torque and brooch were discovered in 1847, a chance find by a labourer, lodged deep in a rock crevice at Orton Scar, Cumbria. They were sold to local lawyer and antiquary, Thomas Reveley, who presented them to the Society In 1851.

It utilises yellow and red ochre, and measures just over 17 feet in width and more than 11 feet in height.

It is believed that the Chaldon paintings were created by a travelling monk skilled in Greek art. This part of the watercolour depicts the Biblical Day of Judgement, showing angels with some souls ascending to Paradise and others being warded off.

Very large watercolour drawing depicting the uppermost part of the wall paintings in St Peter and St Paul's Church in Chaldon, with angels, some souls ascending to Paradise and others being warded off.

This very large watercolour depicts the uppermost part of the wall paintings in St Peter and St Paul's Church in Chaldon, which is famous worldwide for its twelfth-century doom mural located on the west wall.

The Nine Worthies: Who, What, When, Where & Why? - Society of Antiquaries of London The identification of wall paintings of two of the Nine Worthies at Eastgate House, Rochester in 2018 led to a deeper investigation of their use in a variety of media in the interiors of 16th and 17th...

On 3 March, join our free lunchtime lecture to hear about the identification of wall paintings of two of the Nine Worthies at Eastgate House and learn about their use in a variety of media in the interiors of 16th and 17th century houses.

www.sal.org.uk/event/nine-w...

We wonder if they had jousting cheques like this at the tourney at Ashford Meadow...🏇

The cheque gives the names of challengers and defenders and is accompanied by the arms of Francis I of France I and Henry VIII, with the collars of the Orders of St Michael and the Garter, respectively, followed by emblazoned shields of French and English nobility, which aren't all identified.

Jousting cheque relating to one contest at the Field of the Cloth of Gold June 1520. Two vellum leaves. The cheque (top of fol. 1) gives the names of challengers and defenders and is accompanied by the arms of Francis I of France I and Henry VIII, with the collars of the Orders of St Michael and the Garter, respectively, followed by emblazoned shields of French and English nobility (fols. 1-2v), not all identified.

This jousting cheque relates to one of the contests at the Field of the Cloth of Gold, June 1520.

The scheme was never completed, but three of the seven surviving panels are now at Kelmscott Manor.

Designed by Morris, this representation of St Catherine, is one of an ambitious set of figure panels inspired by classical sources & Chaucer’s poem The Legend of Good Women, which were intended to hang around the walls of the dining room at Red House.

Full-length female figure depicting St. Catherine. The figure holds a book in her left hand and a sword in her right, she stands beside a separate, stylised lemon tree. Embroidered in coloured wools and silks and appliquéd on a brown velvet panel.

Along with painted furniture and murals, another decorative feature of William Morris’s first married home, Red House, and later of Kelmscott Manor, was the use of embroidered textiles as wall hangings.

Mr Ingleby is serving up pancakes in unique style for Pancake Day! This poster from 1822 is advertising a show put on by the 'Emperor of all the Conjurors', Mr Ingleby.

A poster advertising Mr Ingleby the conjuror and his tricks, including a pancake trick

'He will take a pint of water, a pint of flour & 2 new-laid eggs, without any deception whatever, & pour them, in the face of the company, into any Gentleman's Hat, & holding them over a candle for the space of 1min, he will introduce a quantity of well-made PANCAKES, fit for any Gentleman's table'

From Vide Pownall's treatise on the Study of Antiquities, the drawing shows the forequarters of a horse with a specialised harness for drawing a rake-like device (perhaps a plough or harrow).

This drawing is one of a set of seven consecutively numbered drawings of objects from Elephanta Island, all on the same type of tracing paper and probably by the same artist

The drawing shows one of the wall paintings on a tomb found at Cimitale, Nola, Naples. A man in is shown riding a horse.

The etching shows a relief from Wilton House of a rearing horse, with a rider in military costume clinging to its back.

Happy Lunar New Year! As this year is the year of the 🔥🐎Fire Horse 🐎🔥, we're highlighting a few depictions of horses in our collections.

We hope the energy and passion of the Fire Horse will bring you a good year.

The front cover of Prof. Dan Hick's book

This Thurs join us & @profdanhicks.bsky.social where he'll introduce the history of a skull made into a drinking cup at Worcester College. The talk interrogates inherited cultures of dehumanization & memory, & the treatment of human remains in museums & universities www.sal.org.uk/event/skull-...

Help save Leicestershire’s Bronze Age Torc❗️
We've started a crowdfunding campaign to ensure that a 3,000-year-old golden torc discovered last year near Harborough can be saved and brought back to the county - but we only have until mid-March to do it!

Visit

www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-save-...

In March we're looking forward to Morris Month, a month-long celebration of William and May Morris with @williammorrissocuk.bsky.social. We've got three events organised for the celebrations, check them out at williammorrissociety.org/morris-month/