Ornamental mounts

These gilded fragments may have adorned books, altars or reliquaries. Their use is, so far, unknown, but they are clearly highly decorative. One is clearly a wing, the other appears to be some sort of sprouting rod or staff.  This is a symbol with Old Testament origins relating to Aaron, but also with St Joseph of Arimathea. Glastonbury has two legends associated with it that relate to sprouting staffs. One is the cult of St Benignus, reputedly an Abbot in 472 whose staff burst into flower when he reached Glastonbury on a pilgrimage from Ireland. The other is the legend of Joseph of Arimathea and the Holy Thorn.

Adopt this artefact for £75

All sponsorship prices listed are for a period of 12 months starting from the date of adoption. If you would like to adopt an artefact for a longer period please email Daniel Gibson at Daniel.gibson@glastonburyabbey.com for more information.

With your consent your details will be published next to an image of the artefact on a dedicated webpage, along with a card next to the artefact while it is on display in the abbey museum. Glastonbury Abbey may remove items from display temporarily or permanently for essential operational or conservation reasons.

We will be updating the list of artefacts available for sponsorship on a regular basis, however, if there is a particular item which you are interested in sponsoring please email Daniel Gibson at Daniel.gibson@glastonburyabbey.com. As we have several items in our museum which are on loan only items specifically owned by Glastonbury Abbey will be available for sponsorship.