French, Limoges, mid-13th century

Of precious dimensions, this beautifully preserved reliquary casket is a particularly fine example of the so-called châsses à figures de poupées. These often composite caskets are characterised by appliques in the shape of figures with a toy-like appearance known in France as poupées. Châsses à poupées are usually completely gilt and set with glass cabochons and semi-precious stones to mimic the richly decorated liturgical objects from cathedral treasuries. The construction of many parts probably resulted in many of these caskets being damaged and fitted with parts from other fragmentary objects. Despite their often composite appearance, châsses à poupées were highly rated in the Middle Ages and filled with important relics, as is evident from their presence in the treasure of the Basilica of Saint-Denis. One of these, the châsse de saint Hippolyte (now in the Musée du Louvre, inv. no. MR343) shows a similar arrangement at the front, with poupées and cabochons applied to an engraved gilt ground.

The present châsse is distinguished by its richly coloured decoration on the reverse, with white floral or star shapes that reappear, for example, in a more damaged châsse à poupées in the Cluny Museum, Paris (inv. no. CL981). Its sides depict finely engraved figures of Saints - possibly Saint John and the Virgin - amid attractively coloured floral and geometrical motifs. 

RELATED LITERATURE
L. Jouhaud, ‘Les “châsses de pacotille”’, Bulletin de la Société archéologique et historique du Limousin, LXXXIII, 1949, pp. 48-75; L'Oeuvre de Limoges: Emaux limousins du Moyen Age, exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris, and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1995, pp. 327-328, no. 113