jamb statue

{{One source|date=December 2020}}

A jamb statue is a figure carved on the jambs of a doorway or window. These statues are often human figures-typically religious figures or secular or ecclesiastical leaders.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pitt.edu/~medart/menuglossary/jambfig.htm|title=Glossary of Medieval Art and Architecture|date = May 1997|accessdate = December 9, 2020}} Jambs are usually a part of a portal, accompanied by lintel and trumeau.

Two commonly known examples of jamb statues are the ones in Chartres Cathedral and those in Reims Cathedral; both locations are in France.

Chartres Cathedral's jamb statues contribute to a royal portal.{{Cite book |last=WATSON |first=CAROLYN JOSLIN |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/6dc613168f5bfe5b8f7efd18b7a3c51e/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y |title=STRUCTURAL PRINCIPLES OF THE HEADMASTER OF CHARTRES CATHEDRAL. (VOLUMES I-III) (FRANCE, ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE) |year=1986 |edition=1|via=ProQuest }} Jamb statues have also been known in the past to contribute to the representation of social strata on different levels.{{Citation |last=Leschot |first=Elodie |title=The Royal Image and Its Public |date=2022-01-25 |work=Meanings and Functions of the Ruler's Image in the Mediterranean World (11th – 15th Centuries) |pages=365–401 |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0,36&qsp=2&q=jamb+statues+reims&qst=ib |access-date=2024-10-28 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-51158-3}}

A connection between jamb statues and pilgrimage sculpture has been explored in the past in connection to the lion sign often occurring within jamb sculptures.{{Cite journal |last=Porter |first=A. Kingsley |date=1922-01-01 |title=Pilgrimage Sculpture |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/pdf/10.2307/497633 |journal=American Journal of Archaeology |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=1–53 |doi=10.2307/497633 |jstor=497633 |issn=0002-9114}}