Comments on: The Roundels Of Spitalfields https://spitalfieldslife.com/2024/09/04/the-roundels-of-spitalfields-i/ In the midst of life I woke to find myself living in an old house beside Brick Lane in the East End of London Thu, 05 Sep 2024 18:45:01 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 By: Marcia Howard https://spitalfieldslife.com/2024/09/04/the-roundels-of-spitalfields-i/#comment-1620297 Thu, 05 Sep 2024 18:45:01 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=200685#comment-1620297 Wonderful to know these exist. Don’t you just love history! I confess that I didn’t follow up any meanings behind some drain covers I took photos of some years ago while on a trip to Paris, but saw some amazing and quite ornate designs.
Thank you Gentle Author for yet another gem from Spitalfields

]]> By: Lynne Perrella https://spitalfieldslife.com/2024/09/04/the-roundels-of-spitalfields-i/#comment-1619895 Wed, 04 Sep 2024 12:39:56 +0000 https://spitalfieldslife.com/?p=200685#comment-1619895 These roundels remind me of the hand made tokens that were created by New York artist
Beriah Wall. During the late 70s/early 80s we lived downtown in Tribeca and although it has become a very trendy/rarefied place, back then it was very off-the-cuff and full of surprising
discoveries. One could literally stroll around and find examples of free artwork, distributed for the sheer delight of the process. Overnight, limited-edition posters were slathered on storefronts. Bits of found-object “combines” were placed together in momentary assemblages. And Beriah Wall scattered his palm-sized tokens all throughout the neighborhood. One could find one just resting on a window frame, or on a sidewalk. They had cryptic messages, usually a contradictory image on both sides. I always considered it a good omen to discover one of those wonderful tokens. We now have a big collection of them, and they remind us of a relaxed time when art was available “for the picking”.

The reference to “heraldic” above seems quite apt, and the images included in the roundels have a timeless vibe. The image of the hand is especially iconic, and I could imagine a whole series of hands in various positions. Hopefully, the tradition of the roundels will continue. They are
fabulous!

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