IMAGE DETAILS

Art et Patrimoine - Laurence Lenne

Reliquary 'in the form of a sarcophagus with a movable roof'
Limoges, mid-13th century
Gilt copper plates, champlevé enamels on white enamel
H 11.8 x W 27.5 x D 9.5 cm
Literature: Inventaire général des monuments et des richesses artistiques de la France. Emaux limousins du Moyen Age. Correze/ Creuse /Haute-Vienne, under the direction of Paul-Édouard Robinne, Éditions de l’Inventaire, Images du Patrimoine, 1995; Emaux de Limoges XIIè-XIXè siècle, under the direction of Jacques Toussaint, Museum of Ancient Arts of Namur, 1996; Valérie & Thomas Becket, De l'influence des princes Plantagenêt dans l'Oeuvre de Limoges, Municipal Museum of the Bishop’s Palace-Museum of Enamel, Limoges, 1999

Reliquary, without a wooden core, adopting the shape of a sarcophagus with a movable roof. It is made of gilt copper plates and decorated with champlevé enamels depicting sixteen half-length angels emerging from clouds against a white enamel background. The decoration consists of two superimposed registers of three engraved gilt angels set within round medallions. The medallions stand out against a blue enamel ground adorned with gilded Gothic foliage and interlace patterns.

This reliquary belongs to a series of standardized reliquaries known from the Limousin region, all dating from the 13th century. Its dimensions make it one of the largest examples of this 'sarcophagus with movable roof' type. It is closely related to the exceptional large reliquary of Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche, classified as part of the Treasure of the French Historic Monuments.