French, Limoges, second quarter 13th century | Reliquary châsse with angels

Sotheby's London, 9 July 2009, lot 4

This small reliquary casket displays decorative features which are typical of Limoges production in the first half of the 13th century. A narrative element has been replaced in favour of a decorative motif of six angels on the front, two saints on the sides, and a decorative geometric design on the reverse. As such, it is impossible to identify the saint whose relics the châsse would have originally contained. While the motif of half-length angels within medallions is common, it is rare to see these figures fully applied with only the wings engraved. A comparison for such a composition is found in a châsse in St Petersburg (op. cit. 2011, pp. 94-95). For a similar design of the sides with standing saints, combined with lozenge-motifs on the reverse, see a casket in the Cluny Museum, Paris, illustrated in op. cit. 1950 (pl. 30).

RELATED LITERATURE
M. M. Gauthier, Emaux limousins champlevés des XIIe, XIIe et XIVe siècles, Paris, 1950; M.-M. Gauthier, É. Antoine, and D. Gaborit-Chopin (eds.), Corpus des émaux méridionaux. Tome II. L’apogée 1190-1215, Paris, 2011