Lichfield Angel
It depicts the archangel Gabriel, likely as the left-hand portion of a larger plaque showing the annunciation, along with a lost right-hand panel of the Virgin Mary.
The carving is thought to be the end piece of a shrine containing the remains of Saint Chad (died 672) to whom, with Mary, the cathedral is dedicated.
The Lichfield Angel was found buried in the nave of the cathedral during an archaeological survey of the area ahead of the construction of an altar platform.
[2]: 166 Gabriel, a winged angel with a halo, is depicted raising his right hand in benediction while his left holds a sceptre with sprouting foliage.
They uncovered portions of the Anglo-Saxon cathedral as well as the north and south extents of the Norman-era nave and a number of buried artifacts.
[3] A sunken chamber was found to the east of the nave that, with evidence from the writings of Bede, was identified as the remains of a shrine to the 7th-century saint, Chad of Mercia.
[2]: 166 Three-dimensional laser scans were made of the fragments by the Birmingham Museums and Gallery Collection Centre, allowing them to be reassembled digitally while avoiding potential wear and tear caused by trial and error fitting-together of the physical pieces.
[1]: 17 [3] The surviving fragments of the Lichfield Angel are thought to be the left-hand portion of a house-shaped end piece to an enclosure around the coffin of the shrine to St Chad.
[2]: 174 Gabriel's wings were coloured in shades of red in the shadow, pink in the main (with yellow being mixed in) and white highlights.
Gabriel's hands, feet and face were painted in a flesh tone, with the inside of the lips and nostrils accentuated in black.
[2]: 174 The outer part of the halo was coated with a mordant layer formed of an egg-bound mix of silicaceous, iron-containing and aluminium minerals.
[8] Archaeologist Rosemary Cramp and art historian Jane Hawkes have described the Lichfield Angel as "a remarkable survival – of European importance when considered in the context of Early Medieval sculpture".
