The artist - This collection of 44 ceramic whistles represents the animals illuminated in the Bestiaire D’Amour, a bestiary commissioned in the thirteenth century by a cleric at Amiens, Richard de Fournival.
A bestiary is a medieval compendium of beasts, particularly popular in England and France in the middle ages. They were usually richly illuminated and each beast was described in detail and had at least one allegorical meaning which typically illustrated Christian precepts.
Richard’s bestiary is a lover’s plea for an unattainable lady’s affection. He appropriates the allegorical tales of 46 animals to support his arguments about courtly love.
I have used the illuminations as inspiration and each whistle shows the animal acting out its particular characteristic.