Sunday, 7 June 2009
A Terracotta Green Man
While wandering around a maze of stonework at Iford Manor, I came across a very large terracotta pot and was captivated by what I took to be a merchant's face embossed on the outside of it. It was only when I looked more closely at the photograph, tonight, that I realised it depicted a 'Green Man'. According to Wikipedia, a Green Man is a sculpture, drawing or other representation of a face surrounded by or made from leaves. Branches or vines may sprout from the nose, mouth, nostrils or other parts of the face . . .
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I have pictures of the Green Man Festival in Clun in Shropshire on my blog. The festival is held on May Day. The Green Man fights Frostie, the Snow Queen on Clun Bridge; he always wins, of course and he, the May Queen and her attendants proceed to the Castle where jollities begin forthwith.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of the green man. Learn something new every day! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHe's a very handsome one. I have seen them with more leaves but I believe I like this one best. You can make out more of the features.
ReplyDeleteHow very luck you are to have found him. He makes for a handsome pot. Cheryl
ReplyDeleteAhhhhlala ! Si le pots pouvaient parler !
ReplyDeleteHi, thanks for visiting me :) Yes, I agree with those above, a wonderful find. I have read many interesting stories about the green man. I
ReplyDeleteHey Laurie, just found a blog you may enjoy taking a look at, I think you may like this one alot in fact...
ReplyDeletehttp://phantasmagoriaphoto.blogspot.com/
Also, I finally got around this weekend to organising the "Labels" on my posts, all the way back to the beginning... so if, for example, you go down the right side of the page the "Chaotic Index", and click on "Cemeteries" in the list, you will get all 80 some posts I've done on cemeteries... should have done it all along, but now that it is done, am going to keep it up to date as new posts go in.
Gosh, I've not checked your blog for a couple of days and feel like I've missed weeks worth of posts. Wonderful photos of the stone dogs (loved those) and the green man. Oooo, that planter would look wonderful in our back yard!! ;) Silke
ReplyDeleteOhhh...like this!
ReplyDeletehi your blog is just amaizing! i liked very much of your sensitivit for what you photograf , you find greats subjects and bring up its beault.
ReplyDeleteGreen man is a folklore character and related to Sheela-na-gig. You will find them in some old churches. Intriguing, the higher up the building, you go in a medieval cathedral, the more pagan it becomes!
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