A bookish C17th monument to Francis Catesby at St. Mary, Hardmead in Buckinghamshire.
He lies on a bed of books for eternity. A rather wonderful fate for anyone who has ever known the pleasure of being lost in one.
The sculptor has transformed learning into both pillow and foundation: knowledge supporting the body long after life has departed. There is tenderness in the conceit, but humour too.
Instead of military trophies or heraldic grandeur, Catesby is remembered through the quiet, private companionship of pages, bindings and accumulated thought itself.
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