Rye Pottery

Pre-Orders being accepted

To mark the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry to British Shores we’ve created a sixth figure for the 1066 collection – a Saxon Shield Wall. We wanted to include one of the vital but less discussed “characters” in this pivotal battle, and that’s Saxon soldiers themselves. The Latin lettering on the base of the new figures translates to “English Army”.

A fantastic sense of movement and determination flows through these three ceramic characters, conjuring both the spirit of the warriors and the words from the song Carmen de Hastingae Proelio (Ad 1067) “When the stars came out men were still fighting”.

This is quite literally the most technically difficult figure in painting terms we’ve ever produced and it’s packed with wonderful detail – as ever all created using freehand brushwork.

The striking three “House Carls” feature huge amounts of one of our customers favourite elements in this series too, the incredibly time-consuming white detailing that brings the intricate hand-painted armour to life. The abstract tendrils of the tree on this sculpture are also wonderfully reminiscent of the shrubbery that punctuate the scenes of the 70-metre tapestry.

In terms of historical interest the Saxon Shield Wall was a proven & famous 11th Century Anglo Saxon military tactic & formation. The breaking of the Shield Walls during the Battle of Hastings is closely studied in medieval military history  and is regarded as a key turning point on the actual battlefield on 14th October 1066.

This original fully three dimensional figure has once again been modelled by Tony Bennett (RCA) with the extrarodinarily detailed decoration developed by the Rye Design Team.

Click the links below to find all the other figures in this series

William the Conqueror
Duke Harold/Harold Godwinson
Edward The Confessor & Harold Godwinson
Lady Edith/Edith Swan Neck
Bishop Odo, Earl of Kent & Bishop of Bayeux