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.
From the church of Saint Peter, Louvain (sold 1798); Brought from Brussels (unknown date) ; [ Edward Hull, London (by 1836)] ; John, 16th Earl of Shrewsbury, England (in about 1836) ; Cathedral of St. Chad, Birmingham (1841-1851) ; St. Mary's College, Oscott (at Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, 1851
Stedelijk Museum Vander Kelen-Mertens. "Ars sacra antiqua," August 5–November 4, 1962.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 18, 1970–March 29, 1970.
Chicago. Art Institute of Chicago. "The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 16, 1970–July 5, 1970.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Patterns of Collecting: Selected Acquisitions, 1965–1975," December 6, 1975–March 23, 1976.
Shaw, Henry, and Samuel Rush Meyrick. Specimens of Ancient Furniture Drawn from Existing Authorities by Henry Shaw F.S.A., with Descriptions by Sir Samuel Rush Meyrick. London: William Pickering, 1836. p. 43, pl. XLV.
"St. Chad’s, Birmingham." The Tablet 58 (June 19, 1841). pp. 397–98.
Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore. The Present State of Ecclesiastical Architecture in England. London: Charles Dolman, 1843. p. 38n.
Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore. Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament and Costume. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1844. p. 153.
van Even, Edward. Monographie de l'église de Saint-Pierre à Louvain. Brussels and Louvain: Auguste Fonteyn, 1858. p. 35.
van Even, Edward. Louvain monumental, ou, description historique et artistique de tous les édifices civils et religieux de la dite ville. Louvain: Auguste Fonteyn, 1860. p. 199, pl. between pp. 198–99.
Robinson, J. C., ed. Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art of the Mediæval, Renaissance, and More Recent Periods, on Loan at the South Kensington Museum, June 1862. London: South Kensington Museum, 1862. no. 7828, p. 683.
Robinson, J. C., ed. Catalogue of the Special Exhibition of Works of Art of the Mediæval, Renaissance, and More Recent Periods, on Loan at the South Kensington Museum, June 1862. Revised ed. London: South Kensington Museum, 1863. no. 1828, p. 687.
Weale, W. H. J., ed. Catalogue des objets d’art religieux du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes; exposés à l’Hôtel Liedekerke à Malines septembre 1864. 2nd ed. Brussels: Imprimerie de Charles Lelong, 1864. pp. 44, 50.
Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore. Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament and Costume: Compiled from Ancient Authorities and Examples. London: Bernard Quaritch, 1868. pp. 168–69.
Greaney, William. A Catalogue of Pictures, Wood-Carvings, Manuscripts and Other Works of Art and Antiquity, in St. Mary's College, Oscott. Birmingham: Hall and English, 1880. no. 314, pp. 23–24.
Gay, Victor. Glossaire Archéologique du Moyen Âge et de la Renaissance. Vol. 1. Librairie de la Société bibliographie, 1887. p. 13.
van Even, Edward. Louvain dans le passé et dans le présent. Louvain: Auguste Fonteyn, 1895. p. 352.
van der Linden, Herman. Geschiedenis van de stad Leuven. Leuven: Auguste Fonteyn, 1899.
Destrée, Joseph. "La dinanderie sur les bords de la Meuse: Notes et documents." Annales de la Fédération Archéologique et Historique De Belgique, Congrès de Dinant 2 (1903). pp. 777–79.
Farell, A.J. "The Oscott Lectern." The Oscotian, 3rd ser., 3, no. 2 (1903). pp. 82–85.
Perry, John Tavenor. "Lecterns." Christian Art: An Illustrated Monthly Magazine 4 (November 1908). p. 72.
Oman, Charles C. "Medieval Brass Lecterns in England
." Archaeological Journal
87, no. 1 (1930). p. 117 n. 4.
Collon-Gevaert, Suzanne. Histoire des arts du métal en Belgique. Brussels: Palais des Académies, 1951. p. 256.
Squilbeck, Jean. "Pour une nouvelle orientation des recherches sur la dinanderie en Belgique." Revue Belge d'Archéologie et de l'Histoire de l'Art 27 (1958). p. 25.
Ars sacra antiqua: Tentoonstelling ingericht door het Stadsbestuur van Leuven, 4 Augustus-4 November 1962. Leuven: Stedelijk Museum Leuven, 1962. no. 32, pp. 189–91, pl. XL.
Pevsner, Nikolaus, and Alexandra Wedgwood. Warwickshire. Buildings of England, Vol. 31. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1966. p. 198, pl. 17.
Bennett, Ralph. "Letter to the Editor: The Oscott Lectern." The Times 57176 (February 12, 1968). p. 9.
Canaday, John. "Art: A Medieval Treasure at Cloisters. 6-Foot Bronze Lectern Is Opulently Adorned." The New York Times (March 26, 1968). p. 42.
Crab, Jan. "The Great Copper Pelican in the Choir: The Lectern from the Church of St. Peter in Louvain." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 26 no. 10 (June 1968). pp. 401–409, fig. 1, 3–10.
Dean, Timothy. "Letter to the Editor: The Oscott Lectern." The Times 57179 (February 19, 1968). p. 7.
Hopkirk, Peter. "£250,000 Yearly Urged to Rescue Art Works." The Times 57439 (December 20, 1968). p. 3.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Ninety-Eighth Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the Fiscal Year 1967-1968." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 27, no. 2 (October 1968). p. 113.
"Lectern Sale to U.S. Assailed in Britain." The New York Times (February 13, 1968). p. 49.
"Anger Over Art Sale to US." The Times 57173 (February 12, 1968). p. 1.
Wagner, Anthony. "Letter to the Editor: Export Of Works Of Art." The Times 57441 (December 23, 1968). p. 7.
Whitaker, Ben. "Letter to the Editor: Art for the Nation." The Times 57396 (October 31, 1968). p. 11.
Williams, William Emrys. "Letter to the Editor: Oscott Lectern." The Times 57180 (February 20, 1968). p. 9.
Deuchler, Florens. "The Cloisters: A New Center for Mediaeval Studies." The Connoisseur 172 (November 1969). p. 144, fig. 9–10.
Leggatt, Hugh. "Letter to the Editor: Art for the Nation." The Times 57600 (July 1, 1969). p. 9.
Ostoia, Vera K. The Middle Ages: Treasures from the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1969. no. 106, pp. 224–225, 261.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. New York: Dutton Publishing, 1970. no. 175, p. 192.
Leggatt, Hugh. "Letter to the Editor: Loss of Masterpieces." The Times 58210 (June 28, 1971). p. 13.
Deuchler, Florens. "The Cloisters: Ein Museum für mittelalterliche Kunst in New York." Du 32, no. 2 (1972). p. 142.
Raggio, Olga, ed. "Medieval Art and the Cloisters." Notable Acquisitions (Metropolitan Museum of Art) no. 1965/1975 (1975). p. 160.
Young, Bonnie. A Walk Through The Cloisters. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1979. pp. 133–34.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983. no. 40, p. 377.
Shepard, Mary B. Europe in the Middle Ages, edited by Charles T. Little, and Timothy B. Husband. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. pp. 154–55, pl. 143.
Wixom, William D. "Medieval Sculpture at The Cloisters." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 46, no. 3 (Winter 1988-1989). pp. 48–49.
Young, Bonnie. A Walk Through The Cloisters. 5th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1988. pp. 134–35.
Hoving, Thomas. Making the Mummies Dance: Inside the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1993. pp. 50–51, 109–10, 119–23.
Eatwell, Ann, and Anthony North. "Metalwork." In Pugin: A Gothic Passion, edited by Paul Atterbury, and Clive Wainwright. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1994. pp. 180–81.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994. no. 40, p. 411.
Wainwright, Clive. "The Antiquary and Collector." In Pugin: A Gothic Passion, edited by Paul Atterbury, and Clive Wainwright. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1994. p. 101, fig. 18.
Pugin, Augustus Welby Northmore. The Collected Letters of A. W. N. Pugin: Volume 1, 1830–1842, edited by Margaret Belcher. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. pp. 143–44, 148 n. 8.
Tracy, Charles. Continental Church Furniture in England: A Traffic in Piety. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Antique Collectors' Club, 2001. pp. 58–59.
Williams, Michael E. Oscott College in the Twentieth Century. Leominster: Gracewing, 2001. pp. 116–17.
Fisher, Michael J. Pugin-Land: A. W. N. Pugin, Lord Shrewsbury and the Gothic Revival in Staffordshire. Stafford, Staffordshire: Michael J. Fisher, 2002. p. 35.
Williamson, Paul. Netherlandish Sculpture 1450-1550. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2002. p. 24.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 112, pp. 155–56, 198.
Toussaint, Jacques, ed. Art du laiton, dinanderie. Namur: Société Archéologique de Namur, 2005. pp. 85–87, ill. p. 98.
Campbell, Marian. "An Eagle Lectern of the Gothic Revival at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford." In Pagans and Christians: From Antiquity to the Middle Ages; Papers in Honour of Martin Henig, Presented on the Occasion of his 65th Birthday. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2007. p. 341, fig. 2.
Hill, Rosemary. God's Architect: Pugin and the Building of Romantic Britain. London: Allen Lane, 2007. p. 209.
Woods, Kim. Imported Images: Netherlandish Late Gothic Sculpture in England, c.1400-c.1550. Donington: Shaun Tyas, 2007. pp. 143, 154, 221–23.
Westgarth, Mark. A Biographical Dictionary of Nineteenth Century Antique and Curiosity Dealers. Journal of the Regional Furniture Society, Vol. 23. Glasgow: Regional Furniture Society, 2009. pp. 22, 32, 119, fig. 17.
Toussaint, Jacques, ed. Dialogue avec l'invisible: L'art aux sources de l'Europe; Oeuvres d'exception issues de la communauté française de Belgique (VIIIe-XVIIe siècle). Namur: Musée des Arts Anciens du Namurois, 2010. p. 385.
Scholten, Fritz. The Robert Lehman Collection: Volume 12, European Sculpture and Metalwork. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2011. p. 20.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. 75th Anniversary ed. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 164.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.
