The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Effigy of an Abbot

c. 1225

England, Dorset, 13th century

Purbeck marble
Overall: 105.1 x 48.3 x 22 cm (41 3/8 x 19 x 8 11/16 in.)
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1977.71
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Researchers have been trying to identify which abbot is depicted here but so far have had no luck.

Description

This funerary effigy represents one of the abbots of Cerne Abbey in Dorset, in southern England. His identity is unknown. Portrayed with tonsured (shaved) head and tightly curled beard, the abbot clasps a book in his left hand and traces of his crozier (staff) may be seen in his right hand—symbols of his office and pastoral authority. The figure is carved from "Purbeck marble," a limestone unique to the Purbeck Hills of Dorset. Very little remains of Cerne Abbey today, but it is known to have existed as early as the 9th century. The abbey was dissolved in 1539 by King Henry VIII during the English Reformation, at which time its buildings were razed to the ground. This is the only work of art that survives from the abbey and, though buffeted by time and history, retains much of its fine sculptural character. The sculpture has the additional distinction of being the only monument of its type in an American museum.
  • -1810
    Cerne Abbey, Dorset, England
    Pitt-Rivers Museum, Farnham, Dorset, England
    Capt. George Pitt-Rivers (1890-1966), Farnham, Dorset, England
    1966
    Pitt-Rivers Museum Trustee Co., Farnham, Dorset, England
    Mrs. Stella Pitt-Rivers Maumen (1913-1994),
    -1977
    (Howard Ricketts, Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    1977-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Hutchins, John. The History and Antiquities of the County of Dorset, John Bowyer Nichols and Sons, 1863. Vol. 4, p. 27, Fig. 2
    G. Dru Drury, "Early Ecclesiastical Effigies in Dorset," Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society Procs. III (1931). pp. 257-9, plate V
    Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, An Inventory of the Historical Monuments in the County of Dorset, I, West Dorset (1952). p. 77
    Gazette des Beaux-Arts VI per., XCI (March 1978). p. 39, no. 182
    Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1977." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 65, no. 1 (1978). p. 8, cat. no. 17 www.jstor.org
    "Annual Report for 1977." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 65, no. 6 (1978). pp. 182-83 www.jstor.org
  • Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).
  • {{cite web|title=Effigy of an Abbot|url=false|author=|year=c. 1225|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.71