𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖗𝖊𝖙𝖚𝖗𝖓 𝖔𝖋 𝕭𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖜𝖊𝖓 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖘𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖌

Eagle eyed Simon has once again spotted a rare and unusual piece made by my father in the mid-sixties. Luckily, at the auction, our bid was accepted & Branwen, has once again, made her way home. 

If anyone is unaware of the stories of the Mabinogion, I can thoroughly recommend them. Always fantastical and sometimes quite disturbing, as children we were told these legendary tales of Welsh magic & the figures my father made of their wonderful characters illustrated our childhood & fired our imagination.

This story in particular captivated my father & he returned to its theme many times. 

Branwen was the sister of the King of Britain, “Bran the Blessed “, also known as the giant, Bendigeidfran. A pact was made with Matholwch of Ireland that he & Branwen be married to keep the peace between Wales & Ireland. Unfortunately, at the wedding ceremony Branwen’s half bother, Efnysien, loses his temper at not being consulted about the match & disfigures Matholwch’s horses…I told you it was disturbing! 

Although Matholwch is placated by Bran’s gift of a cauldron which can revive the dead he takes Branwen back to Ireland but she is treated with great disrespect & made to work in the kitchens where she is abused. She befriends a starling which carries a message home to Wales telling her brother of her imprisonment & the giant Bran crosses the Celtic Sea with an army. He is so tall when the Irish sentinels see him coming, they believe it’s an island moving towards them. After much violence Branwen is rescued but Bran is killed & his head buried in London where it is said to defend Britain from invasion to this day. Sadly, Branwen died of a broken heart as a result of the destruction which followed in the wake of her rescue. 

As you can see it’s no wonder as children we were totally absorbed by these stories. I myself made many figures of celts (for a little pocket money!) with the names of the giants  warriors of the Mabinogion inscribed into their shields. I’ve also been lucky enough to be reunited with some of them over the years and, as with our latest acquisition, they are now on permanent display in our museum where visitors can see them today…. the figures of Welsh mythology made whole in clay.