REYNARD THE FOX

Brief description: Stained glass roundel surrounded by quarries, depicting a fox and a goose, a scene from Reynard and the fox. Designed and made by Clement James Heaton between about 1845-1855.

Reynard the Fox is an anthropomorphic red fox, and trickster from literary fables that were popular in the medieval period. The character may have its origins in Aesop’s Fables. In the central roundel of this square panel Reynard the Fox is shown fleeing a farm with a stolen goose in his mouth. The panel is early example of Clement Heaton's (1824-82) work and was made for a domestic rather than a religious setting. The roundel is set in monogrammed quarries, alternating a wheatsheaf with a stylised 'W' surmounted by crown, both symbols allude to the owner of the home. The 'W' surmounted by a ducal crown refers to the 1st Duke of Westminster, Hugh Lupus Grosvenor (1825-1899), whose heraldry includes the wheat sheaf also depicted here. The outer border of smaller square quarries, triple-alternate between the face of a fox, a flower and leaf motif. The wolf in the border is a rebus, picture of a word, for his middle name ‘Lupus’, which means 'wolf' in Latin. The panel once adorned the entrance hall of the Grosvenor’s family home Eaton Hall, Cheshire. AThis panel, made for a house rather than a church, typifies the immense popularity of stained glass for domestic decoration in the Victorian era.

Object type: stained glass panel

Number of objects: 1

Production date: 1870-1879

Production period: 19th century, mid

Designer: Clement James Heaton (1824 - 1882)

Manufacturer: Heaton, Butler and Bayne

Dimensions: Height: 435 mm, Width: 435 mm

Original location: entrance hall Eaton Hall Chester Cheshire England Eaton Hall (demolished 1961)

Acquisition: purchase 10.6.1996

Acquisition source: Wigley, George

Accession number: ELYGM:1996.3