Medieval painted panels found beneath Toledo house

"A group of polychrome wood panels discovered under the floorboards of a house in Toledo in 2018 are going on display at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid. They were found during construction of a hotel planned to go up over several buildings in the Bajada del Pozo Amargo street next to Toldeo's Cathedral. They had been stripped from their original location on the upper part of the walls of a quadrangular hall and reused as raw carpentry material in the house's subfloor."

"The panels date to the 13th and 14th centuries and depict courtly scenes of ladies, kings and knights, warfare, hunting and allegories of wisdom with images of books and philosophers. Courtly scenes include: a royal, bearded man with a crown and purple mantle with castle elements in the background; two crowned figures, one bearded, one youthful, flanked by ladies in headdresses; a man wearing a purple cloak with an ermine trim backed by courtiers wearing gloves and tunics."

Polychrome wooden panels dating to the 13th and 14th centuries were recovered beneath a Toledo house floor in 2018 and conserved for exhibition in Madrid. The panels originally adorned the upper walls of a quadrangular hall and were later repurposed as carpentry material in a subfloor. Imagery includes courtly scenes of royals, ladies, knights, hunting and warfare, a detailed cavalry battle with banners and draped horses, and a panel of arms and armor showing wounds and blood. Several figures are identifiable by inscriptions and heraldry, including Jofre de Loaysa and Archbishop Gonzalo Petrez. Intellectual themes feature Plato and Aristotle with Sophia, codex-filled cabinets, and astronomy tables.

Read at www.thehistoryblog.com