Description
A carved angel with dark, shoulder-length hair and outspread feathered wings holds a long shield against its body. Its robe retains red paint with a blue-grey collar. Both hands grasp the shield’s lower sides. The shield displays a chequered pattern of pale gold and blue-grey squares, crossed by a broad red horizontal band. The pale wings have overlapping feathers near the shoulders and long, pointed feathers extending outwards.
Heraldry
Provisional blazon: Chequy Argent and Sable, a fess Gules. In plain English, the shield is patterned with alternating white and black squares, crossed horizontally through the centre by a broad red band.
The principal design is clearly discernible, although wear and the softness of the original photograph make the precise colours and some individual squares uncertain.
Identification: RCHME: Checky, azure and argent, a fess gules, for Clifford; Buckeridge: Chequy azure and or, a fess gules CLIFFORD.
Condition
Extensive paint loss leaves pale patches across the forehead, cheeks, nose and chin, and obscures much of the eye on the viewer’s left. The shield’s chequered pattern and red band remain recognisable, although abrasion exposes the wood grain and interrupts several squares. Vertical splitting affects the shield’s centre, with additional cracks and losses in its lower portion. The hands and robe are worn. Both wings retain clear feather detail but show splits, chipped edges, small holes and visible fixings