Nationalism, Medievalism and the Study of Sculpture: Prior and Gardner's Account Reassessed

Donington: Shaun Tyas , 2023. Book. New. Soft cover. 1st Edition. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Edward S. Prior and Arthur Gardner published An Account of Medieval Figure Sculpture in England with Cambridge University Press in 1912. This became the foundational book for the study of medieval figure-sculpture in England (and Wales). The authors' presuppositions about the materials they discuss, their inclusions and omissions, their focus on chronological sequencing, and analytical organisation, as well as their strongly nationalistic tone, all receive thorough scrutiny for the first time in this new study, based on a Cambridge conference celebrating the centenary of the Account. Prior and Gardner's work is contextualised within the history of scholarship devoted to medieval sculpture in France, Germany, Hungary and Ireland, revealing how European nationalism has affected (and continues to affect) both the study and the reception of the medieval past. Many of Prior and Gardner's contemporaries in Britain and Ireland also receive attention and the networks of scholars and contacts who contributed to their book are revealed. Medieval patronage and funerary sculpture, photographic recording and scientific conservation are also discussed in this striking new assessment of the context, accomplishment and legacy of Prior and Gardner's great Account. 256pp.