Rânes (Orne)


This figure is unique in being on the chamfer of a doorway of a dwelling-house (currently up for sale)
which incorporates various granite fragments of a nearby 12th century church or abbey
destroyed during the Wars of Religion or the Revolution.

It bears a resemblance to several post-Romanesque, Insular sheela-na-gigs
in the heart-shaped torso, the tiny breasts, and the crude, annular vulva.
It seems to be wearing a head-dress or an elaborate coiffure.

A similar Romanesque exhibitionist can be seen (also on a doorway, but sideways) at Liathmore in Ireland.

Compare also with two more Irish examples:


Redwood Castle (Tipperary)


Cloghane Castle (Roscommon)


A granite fireplace in the same house at Rânes has this mask-like head with an abstract, curlicue body beneath it.

 


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