Medieval Style, English-Made Decorative Plaster Plaque Depicting Knights Jousting in Original Polychrome

A highly decorative medieval-style plaster plaque. English-made in original polychrome, modelled in deep relief and depicting two armoured knights on horseback engaged in a joust. The horses rear and charge towards one another, lances couched, caparisons and armour picked out in rich metallic and coloured tones that catch the light beautifully on the wall.

The scene is set within an ornate Gothic-style architectural surround, with cusped arches, tracery and small shield devices that reinforce the medieval flavour. The combination of sculpted depth, original hand-applied colouring and the rhythmic movement of the horses gives the plaque real presence—very much a statement piece of mid–20th-century neo-medieval design.

About the maker – Marcus Designs (David H. Morton)

The plaque was modelled and made by David H. Morton, who worked in Bottesford, North-East Leicestershire, and produced decorative plaster reliefs—predominantly of medieval inspiration—from the late 1960s into the early 1980s under the name “Marcus Designs.” As his processes developed, the range expanded from smaller designs (including early pieces based on ancient coins) to increasingly ambitious friezes of medieval battles, some extending to several feet in length.

Each plaque originally left the workshop with a hand-written card in Old English Gothic script, describing the subject in detail, right down to costume and heraldry. These cards typically concluded with a note that the hand-made reliefs were reproduced from Morton’s sculpture and enhanced by a special colouring process, and that they should simply be dusted occasionally with a soft dry cloth. Production ceased in the early 1980s as demand declined, consigning Marcus Designs to history; surviving examples are now collected in their own right as characterful mid–20th-century interpretations of the medieval past.

Provenance:

Origin: England

Maker: David H. Morton, Marcus Designs, Bottesford, North-East Leicestershire

Date: Late 20th century (circa 1960s–1980s)

Material: Plaster.

Condition: Please refer to the images. There is some surface wear and a historic loss to one corner, hence our retail price. There is minor rubbing to the polychrome commensurate with age and display, but nothing that detracts from the overall impact. A more detailed condition report is available on request.

Ready to hang as a decorative wall plaque. The piece works equally well as a focal point in a medieval, Gothic or country-house interior, or as part of a grouping of folk art and sculptural wall pieces.

Dimensions: