In a bizarre incident, paintings of “national significance” believed to be nearly 400 years old have been found at an apartment in Micklegate, York city in northern England following a kitchen renovation.
According to BBC (article beyond paywall), Luke Budworth, a medical researcher at UK’s Leeds University, with his partner Hazel Mooney, and pet dog have moved into the apartment in October 2020. He was getting his kitchen renovated last year when he found the paintings measuring about 9 feet by 4 feet just below the ceiling. Budworth said he was “very excited” to find the paintings and urged to conserve them for future generations.
“I got my tools out and started chipping away at the board. As soon as I lifted the panel off, there it was, beautiful colours, with some still remaining layers of wallpaper from the Victorian era,” he added.
The initial investigation done by Budworth revealed that the paintings featured scenes from a book called Emblems written by poet Francis Quarles in 1635 . The artworks, painted directly on to plaster, are believed to be of 17th century. According to a CNN report (article beyond paywall), the newly unearthed frieze depicts a Biblical scene in which a man in a cage is pulled along by an angel. There is also a man in a white cart who “looks like he’s riding to the kingdom of heaven.”
Upon discovery, Budworth contacted Historic England, a public body that looks after the country’s historic environment, and the team further helped him dig out more details and significance of the paintings.
The Historic England’s representative surveyed the artwork and took some professional photographs and Budworth was given a high quality, life size replica of the frieze and was advised to cover it up in order to preserve it, the report added.
Simon Taylor, Historic England’s senior architectural investigator for the north region, said it was an “exciting rediscovery”. “We think they are of national significance and in the context of York, where domestic wall paintings are quite rare, they are of special interest,” he added.
The paintings had initially been found in 1998 and photographed before being covered up again and largely forgotten, the report added.