ORNAMENTAL WOODCARVER Patrick Damiaens

Friday, 9 December 2016

Belgian Heraldic sculptor discovers missing British work of heraldic art | Monument Sir Nicholas Throckmorton | st katharine cree church london

Sir Nicholas Throckmorton | Momument Throckmorton London
st katharine cree church london

Belgian Heraldic sculptor discovers missing British work at a Belgian art-dealer

PRESS RELEASE
BELGA Newsagency Brussels

Patrick Damiaens, a woodcarver and heraldic sculptor from the city of Maaseik (Belgium) has discovered a missing 16th century coat of arms of an important British ambassador at an antiques fair in Namur. The church of St Katharine Cree in London, where the work of art went missing during World War II, has appointed a lawyer to retrieve the piece.

“At the antiques fair in Namur this ornamental piece immediately caught my eye”, says Patrick Damiaens. “The relief in question represents a 16^th century coat of arms of about 80 cm in size, which was made of alabaster and is of exceptional quality.
The antique dealer tried to pass it off as a German-Austrian relief from the middle of the 16^th century, which I found quite strange, seeing as it rather seemed to be of British origin.” Extensive research into the origin of the piece led Damiaens to the Throckmortons, a noble family from England. “The ornamental piece went missing years ago from the monument of Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, a confidant of Elisabeth I and Mary Queen of Scots”, according to Damiaens. “He himself was a Britsh ambassador in France and the Throckmorton family in general was quite influential in 16^th century England.” Damiaens is one hundred percent certain that the piece he saw at the antiques fair in Namur belongs to this noble British family.

Monument Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, London
st katharine cree church london

Marc Van der Cruys, editor of a heraldic magazine, is also convinced of its authenticity. “I believe there is little doubt that this sculpture, with its coat of arms, was once the ornament adorning the family monument at the parochial church of St Katharine Cree", says Van der Cruys. "It is indeed plausible that the relief was among the debris carried out of the church after a bombardment during WWII. Possibly, one of the workers set it aside ‘for a rainy day’ after the war. In this period, when the bombs were literally flying around people’s ears, nobody paid any attention to this."Meanwhile, the person in charge of the church of St Katharine Cree in Londen has undertaken the necessary steps.

By calling in a lawyer Christopher A Marinello who specializes in stolen, looted or missing works of art, the church wants to see the missing piece returned to its rightful place. For the moment, the coat of arms is still in the possession of the art-dealer who was trying to sell it at the fair in Namur. "Legally speaking, the piece belongs to me, so I’m not obliged to return it”, claims the antique dealer, who wishes to remain anonymous. "But, for ethical reasons, I will return it.
It just wouldn’t feel right to keep it or sell it. I have recently (Wednesday afternoon, 7-12-2016) spoken to the lawyer from England and we are working on a solution."

Monument Sir Nicholas Throckmorton, London
st katharine cree church london

Looking for counsel with some respectable art dealers of the TEFAF ‘The Art Fair in Maastricht’, giving me one advice, that I had to put the news and my findings as quickly as possible public, ‘so no other person, interest or firm would use your work as theirs’. The artworld is a crabbasket " they told me."

Belgian Heraldic sculptor discovers missing British work of heraldic art
st katharine cree church london

https://www.patrickdamiaens.info

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Sunday, 2 October 2016

A visit to the PALACE OF COMPIÈGNE | The Castle of PIERREFONDS | An excursion with some of my students Ornamental Woodcarving

A visit to the PALACE OF COMPIÈGNE

A visit to the Castle (Palace) of Compiègne

and the castle of Pierrefonds.

Ornamental woodcarving student’s visit.

For many years now, in company with the students in training for ornamental woodcarving, we make an annual excursion. Versailles Palace is one of these places and they are looking forward to visit it, but this year I have chosen a wonderful destination in the north of France.

In mid-July (2015), a bit late as normally, it seemed a good idea to visit the castle (palace) of Compiègne and the castle of Pierrefonds. Compiegne and Pierrefonds are to completely different historic buildings, but they had in common that they had same owner/occupant.

A visit to Compiègne Castle / view from the garden.

The Palace of Compiègne. The rooms on the first floor

From Maaseik, in Belgium(Where I live), direction Compiègne, it takes about 3 ½ hrs driving and is well doable; Pierrefonds is just 15 minutes away from Compiegne. Compiegne is known for being the start point of the cycling race Paris-Roubaix. And here was the place where the Germans surrender during the First World War, in a train car just outside Compiegne.

Compiègne Castle is a castle which is still undiscovered by mass tourism, situated in a beautiful historic center. Beautiful sandstone buildings and homes, you notice that there is an atmosphere “that tells you that once this must have been an important place to be”, the same image you get in the old town of Versailles.

The choice of a visit to Compiègne was mainly because of the unique, beautiful preserved, historic interiors dating back to the late 18th century to mid-19th century. Period rooms crammed with furniture in Empire style (around 1810) and Napoleon III style (around 1860). It was pleasant to walk around, affordable ticket (7, 5 euro) and for 2 more euros you can have the audio guide in order to have more information.

Empress’ bedroom / Chateau de Compiègne.

Chateau Compiègne was one of the residences of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (Empire style) and 50 years later, of Emperor Napoleon III (Napoleon III style or 2nd empire). Compiegne has unique, beautiful preserved, historic interiors. We had a bit of luck, there was an exhibition running, an exhibition over the Empire decorative arts between 1800 -1815. For me, personally, this was a comprehensive retrospective. And all this beauty was included in the entry ticket, really worthy.

I will definitely put more attention to the Empire style and to this castle in my next blog entry.

One of the many rooms of the exhibition. | Palace of Compiègne

Chateau Pierrefonds

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The Castle of PIERREFONDS

Chateau Pierrefonds was originally a medieval fortress, which fell into disrepair and was restored and reconstructed around 1860 by Napoleon II orders. Napoleon III made of it a place of residence.

But –again- no crowds. Later that day I even had the impression that there were more visitors around Pierrefonds Castle than in Chateau Compiegne. This is probably due to the charisma and romantic image of a “fortress”, and has a great appeal to the younger tourists, which usually do not have such interest in dusty rooms full of history and furniture.

It becomes apparent that the restoration made by the architect Viollet-le-Duc was good, following the style of other castles from the same period. The interior of the castle offers an overview of historic rooms in neo-style, from neo-Gothic to neo-renaissance.

We found many woodcarvings, but the quality and originality are exceptional. There is an abundance of ornamentation in stone and stucco of remarkable craftsmanship, you need to stand still and absorb the beauty of the work. Even stone ornaments can be the source of inspiration for a woodcarver. The entry ticket to this castle, individual visitor, is 7, 50 euros. If you visit both places, you can ask for combination ticket.