Corbel with Female Head, early 13th century
Spain, Castilla-León, Frías (near Burgos), Parish Church of San Vicente Martír
Stone, polychromy; Overall: 14 7/8 x 13 3/8 x 16 1/8 in. (37.8 x 34 x 41 cm)
The Cloisters Collection, 1923 (23.110.56)
Spain, Castilla-León, Frías (near Burgos), Parish Church of San Vicente Martír
Stone, polychromy; Overall: 14 7/8 x 13 3/8 x 16 1/8 in. (37.8 x 34 x 41 cm)
The Cloisters Collection, 1923 (23.110.56)
This ingenuous face animates a structural supporting stone originally from a church near Burgos, where it probably was installed near the roofline. Other heads from the site are installed in a reconstructed doorway at The Cloisters. The zigzag carving circling the head represents a fashionable headdress and chinstrap, indicating that the radically simplified face depicts a woman.

















