Enamels from the Middle Ages at the Brimo de Laroussilhe gallery

21/9/23 - Art market - Paris - Pyxides, boxes containing Oil of Saints, reliquary shrines, bookbinding plaques and candlesticks - the Parisian gallery Brimo de Laroussilhe is bringing together an anthology of enamels from the Middle Ages on the Quai Voltaire until 14 October.
Champlevé enamels from Limoges are obviously the most numerous. However, a number of 12th-century pieces bear witness to the other major enamelling centres of the Meuse Valley and the Rhine-Mosan region, notably small, isolated plaques of various shapes - rectangular, curved at the top, mandorla-shaped - depicting saints or allegories. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to link them to other similar pieces and to determine which object they decorated, whether a cross, an altar or a reliquary shrine.

1. Limoges, c. 1190-1200
Binding plate: Crucifixion
Champlevé copper, enamelled, engraved, chased and gilded - 24.6 x 13.6 cm
Galerie Brimo de Laroussilhe
Photo: Galerie Brimo de Laroussilhe

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The production of the Limousin workshops, otherwise known as the Œuvre de Limoges, became established in the mid-12th century and spread throughout Europe until the early 14th century. Its success can be attributed not only to the skills of the enamellers and the brilliance of the colours, but also to the relatively modest cost of the materials used - copper rather than gold or silver, enamels rather than stone - and to the ability of the workshops to supply large numbers of pieces, as well as objects specifically created for prestigious clients. Limousin enamels thus attracted a wide range of customers, both secular and religious.

2. Limoges, c. 1200
Binding plate: Crucifixion
Champlevé copper, enamelled, engraved, chased and gilded - 23.6 x 11 cm
Brimo de Laroussilhe Gallery
Photo: Galerie Brimo de Laroussilhe

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It takes an expert eye to perceive the specificity of each work, noticing, for example, on a binding…