Lectern in the Form of an Eagle

Jehan Aert van Tricht

ca. 1500 · Brass · The Cloisters

Atop this large lectern, which was used for reading from the Gospels, is an impressive eagle, symbol of Saint John the Evangelist, perched with a dragon beneath its talon. A complex object assembled from many separately cast parts, the lectern is supported by three lion feet and embellished with figures of the Magi, Christ, Saint Peter, Saint Barbara, and Old Testament prophets. In the nineteenth century, John Talbot, sixteenth earl of Shrewsbury, donated the lectern to the cathedral of Saint Chad in Birmingham, England, designed by the renowned Gothic revival architect A.W.N. Pugin (1812-1852). The figures of Saint Barbara and the first Magus are nineteenth-century replacements, dating from the time of Pugin's involvement with the lectern.

Artist

Jehan Aert van Tricht

Date

ca. 1500

Medium

Brass

Culture

South Netherlandish

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1968