Censing Angel Clonfert

 

Censing angel on the apex of the late medieval arch.

Christy Cunniffe

This late medieval carving of a censing Angel is located on the apex of the inserted fifteenth-century order of the original Romanesque doorway at Clonfert Cathedral. The angel is depicted with a thurible in the process of censing or blessing those entering the church. The stone carver obviously misread the situation as the thurible is left slightly short. The arch also bears vine leaf – a Eucharistic motif. The vine leaf is a common motif in late medieval sculpture in Clonfert diocese. The chancel arch and the corbels supporting the ribs of the arches of the bell-tower bear rich array of carving by the same mason.