Hansons Auctioneers and Valuers
Los 271A
A complete cast copper-alloy gilt and champleve enamel anthropomorphic Limoges mount, dating c. 1150-1300. The mount takes the form of a robed and nimbate standing Saint, who faces the viewer with his hands clasped across his chest. The latter rendered via means of detailed engraving, twelve irregular cells infilled with a now slightly degraded bluish enamel on the front face of the mount are clearly intended to represent folds in his clothing. The face is realistically rendered, with a pointed nose, small mouth-and two small pellets of bluish glass representing eyes. On the back of the head, a circular disc affixed by means of an integral rivet denotes the halo, still able to be rotated. Set along the middle of the mount are two circular rivet holes (now empty) presumably the means by which the mount was attached to something larger. The reverse of the object is plain and slightly domed. Condition: excellent, some corrosion, enamel only slightly leached. Length: c. 64mm. Width at base: c. 23mm. Discussion: The French city of Limoges was a major centre for the production of enamelled metalwork during the 12th and 13th centuries, primarily manufacturing religious items both for the general and high-status markets. Objects such as panels from crucifixes and casket mounts (from which this mount probably originates) as well as dress accessories like buckles are encountered fairly commonly in Britain, though rarely in such good condition. Production at Limoges tailed off in the earlier years of the 14th century, but effectively ended after the sack of the city by Edward the Black Prince in 1370.Provenance: found Micheldever, Hampshire, 2019. Recorded on the PAS as DOR-5ED306.
