The Painted Wooden Tomb Effigies at Goudhurst to Sir Alexander Culpepper (d. 1541) and his Second Wife, Dame Constance Culpepper, and their Comparators

Abstract

Wooden tomb effigies are now rare in England and Wales, although it is likely that they were once relatively common. Of the total of 120 known examples, only ninety-three survive. The other twenty-seven documented figures have been lost or destroyed owing to woodworm, fire, iconoclasm, theft and the general misuse that has beset this monumental type. Most remaining examples are mere skeletons of their original state, with any surface decoration worn away or cleaned off over the centuries, leaving only bare wood with perhaps traces of polychromy in crevices. A minority are now painted, but most do not display the original surface finish. The effigies at Goudhurst (Kent) to Sir Alexander Culpepper (d. 1541) and his second wife were thought to have been similarly overpainted, but new evidence from recent pigment analysis using polarized light microscopy shows that this was probably only partial. Physical and documentary evidence throw much light on the dating of the monument, the two effigies of which were produced at different times, the older parts dating to 1537. A detailed assessment of the memorial and its comparanda underlines the unique nature of the pair.