In folklore the representation of a ‘Green Man’ originally comes from the Gothic styles of architecture but dates back to much earlier Mediterranean culture. Symbolising rebirth, there is a 13th century example in St. Canices Cathedral, Kilkenny. The carver of this table must have been aware of these acanthus, framed masks from medieval monasteries or from printed and manuscript sources. The ‘Wild Man of the Forest’ is a pagan deity referenced in Gothic mythology. Over time the ‘Wild Man’ and ‘Green Man’ became conflated, which may account for the alarming set of serrated teeth we see on this idiosyncratic table.
