Focus on this artwork and discuss the Description.
The statue is carved from red sandstone and is twice life-size, standing 3.37 metres (11.1 ft) high.  It weighs 1.25 tonnes and is the largest surviving medieval statue of St  Christopher in Britain. The statue depicts St Christopher carrying Christ, as a child, on his left shoulder, walking through water that contains fish; the saint is wearing medieval clothes.  It does not have the full thickness of a statue and is rather a carving in relief, having a maximum depth of 0.4 metres (1.3 ft).  It was created in three pieces, one of which is now missing.  The main piece is the section above the saint's knees and it includes the Christ child.  The smaller piece is the base, consisting of the saint's lower legs and the river.  The missing piece would have fitted into a hollow on the saint's right side.  The right arm of the saint and the Christ child's right arm are missing.  It is likely that the Christ child's arm would have been raised in benediction, and the saint's arm would have carried a staff.  The Christ child's head is not original, having been replaced in the 17th century.  There is a break running from the saint's forehead to below Christ's knee.  The details of the carving remain fine, with little weathering.  The depictions of the fish are sufficiently realistic for the species of all but one to be identified; the species identified are garfish, pike, mullet, carp or bream, and plaice or flounder.  Fragments of paint remaining on the surface show that the statue was originally brightly coloured, with a vermilion cloak, naturally coloured skin, and a grey beard.  Traces of wax are also present, some of them overlaid by particles of blue-green paint.
plaice Christ pike sandstone vermilion flounder carp garfish mullet relief bream medieval benediction