Pittensorn Pictish panel
Last updated | 10/09/2010
This fragment of early medieval or Pictish sculpture was found in
the early 1990s at Pittensorn Farm, near Murthly, Perthshire. After
due treasure trove process it was allocated to Perth Museum and Art
Gallery. It is one of currently three pieces of early medieval
sculpture known from the Murthly area, the other two being the
Gellyburn cross-slab (also in Perth Museum and Art Gallery) and the
Murthly panel (in the National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh).
The Pittensorn fragment is thought to have come form a larger panel
which served either as a shrine or burial monument or as part of an
architectural frieze. The main element of the surviving design
shows two men confronting each other with their legs turning into
an interlace design. This interlace returns to the men with snake
head terminal which bite at their genitals. This was probably meant
as an image of hell, and so the fate of the wicked. Also visible
are the tails of two large animals moving to the right. The
lay-out, style and imagery of the sculpture suggest connections
with the manuscript tradition of the Book of Kells and sculpture in
several places (including St Andrews) but in particular Meigle,
Perthshire. The quality and range of the Murthly area sculptures
indicates a now vanished church site of some importance.
