Stove Tile with Saint John the Evangelist and Samson

Buda Castle Workshop

late 15th century · Earthenware, lead glaze · Medieval Art

This corner tile is from the decorative outer cladding of a closed wood-burning stove in the Augustinian abbey at Waldhausen in southern Austria. The abbey was dedicated to Saint John the Evangelist, who appears on the central heraldic shield. Samson, shown struggling with the lion, appears tucked behind the shield to either side. The stove may have been donated by Matthias Corvinus (1443–1490), King of Hungary, who also ruled Austria from 1480.

Artist

Buda Castle Workshop

Date

late 15th century

Medium

Earthenware, lead glaze

Culture

Hungarian

Department

Medieval Art

Credit line

Gift of R. Thornton Wilson, in memory of Florence Ellsworth Wilson, 1954