|
Date: |
|
Description: | A complete Medieval cast copper alloy Limoges style enameled reliquary or cross mount. The mount is anthropomorphic in form and decoration and depicts a head and robed body. The head is moulded in the round with raised upper band, possibly a tonsure, followed by flat forehead, two inlaid blue glass eyes, with traces of the nose, cheeks and chin. While the head protrudes outwards from the surface of the object, the rest of the body is thin and remains relatively flat to the surface, curving back severely at the end. The object would have originally sat flush with the surface of the larger object; however, it is suggested that this bending is due to crude removal of the mount from the cross or reliquary. The segment of the mount depicting the body is rounded at the shoulders where it connects to the head and is sub-rectangular in plan with a straight lower edge. Centrally positioned at either vertical end of the body is a large circular rivet hole, which would have fixed this decorative element to the object; both rivets are now missing. On the outer surface, Limoges style red enamel strips were used elaborately to indicate the folds in the individual's robes, with multiple folds at the arms and near the legs. Traces of gilding on the outer surface suggest that some or all areas not decorated with enameling were gilded. The object measures 69.67 mm long, 23.32 mm wide, 8.82 mm thick and weighs 20.21 grams. The metal is of a dark green colour on the outer surface, with the reverse in very poor condition and uneven dark green and reddish brown colouration.This style of enamelled mount, probably for a casket or a cross, was typically produced in the Limoges area in central France during the late 12th and 13th centuries. The technique, known as 'champlevé' enamelling, involved grinding out a metal base to recieve glass powder that was then fired. A variety of different items were produced from the workshops at Limoges, both commerical and ecclesiastical including altar crosses, relic caskets, candlesticks and marriage coffers (Mills, 1999, 106).A similar enameled figure was found in Salisbury (#2, fig 8) and paralleled by another in Winchester (Cherry, 2001, 42). Cherry notes that enamelled figures with two holes for attachment to a reliquary, box or cross are not uncommon finds and are likely to represent saints or apostles. Several similar examples have been recorded on the PAS database; for example, cf.: LVPL-D02C10, SUSS-52D708, HAMP-774550 and IOW-B137B5.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
|
More Like this...
-
MOUNT
An incomplete Medieval cast copper…
-
MOUNT
An incomplete cast copper alloy…
-
MOUNT
An incomplete cast copper alloy…
-
MOUNT
A complete cast copper alloy…
-
MOUNT
A complete cast copper alloy…
-
MOUNT
A complete cast copper alloy…
-
MOUNT
A complete Medieval cast copper…
-
MOUNT
An incomplete, medieval, copper alloy…
-
MOUNT
A copper alloy mount dating…
-
MOUNT
An incomplete copper alloy gilded…
|