Pair of Tudor Polychromed Roof Bosses

A remarkable pair of late medieval roof bosses, each finely carved and retaining vestiges of original painted and gilt surface. One is modelled as a naturalistic Tudor rose, the dynastic emblem of Henry VII and the unification of the Houses of York and Lancaster. The other depicts a fleur-de-lys, emblematic of the Virgin Mary and also long associated with the royal arms of France, a device still quartered by the kings of England in the Tudor period.
Such bosses served both decorative and symbolic purposes in the vaulting of great churches and cathedrals, drawing the eye upward toward the heavenly realm. The combination of rose and fleur-de-lys may allude to the dual themes of royal legitimacy and Marian devotion.
By repute these examples were removed from Exeter Cathedral following the destruction caused by bombing during 1942, when many fittings and fragments were dispersed.