Note on stelae.
Note on the relief stelae from Abense-de-Haut, Licq, Sunhar and their probable date. Among the attempts at sculpture in the round, noteworthy are the stelae "of characters" from Abense-de-Haut, Licq-Atherey and Sunhar. Surely, this work has nothing artistic. The sculpture is primitive, the details were probably never marked, the drawing is childish. These stelae, all anonymous and undated, seem very old. They are visibly contemporary and seem to come from the same workshop. However, a detail may allow them to be dated, very approximately. The reverse of the Licq-Atherey stela bears a cantonated kick cross, at 1, of a cross; in 2, of three bezants; in 3 and 4, of a bezante. This face is comparable to a coin of Edward I, called "sterling" which presents an identical cross patté, cantonated with 3 bezantes in 1, 2, 3 and 4. On the other hand, I have specified (see Etude sur les analogies ), the resemblance of numerous stelae with medieval coins. As regards the aforementioned stelae, if they are not contemporary with the reign of Edward I, they may be a century later. It still dates back to the 14th century. There is nothing unreasonable about this supposition given the state of the stones.