Christ appears in the center of the principal face of the reliquary beneath the roof plaque, which depicts the hand of God flanked by two angels swinging censers. Distinguished by his cruciform nimbus, he holds a book in his left hand and raises his right hand in blessing; the Greek letters alpha and omega, symbolizing the eternity of God, are at either side. At his right is a female saint identified as "Maria" (Mary Magdalene), who clasps an unguent jar and a palm frond. To Christ's left is a bearded male saint identified as "Marcialis" (Martial), the first bishop of Limoges, who also raises his right hand in blessing. Saint Peter, holding the red-enameled keys to the kingdom of heaven, and another saint, probably Paul, appear on the end panels. At the upper and lower corners of the reverse stand the four symbols of the Evangelists, clasping their Gospel texts (or, in the case of the eagle of Saint John, a scroll) in hooves, talons, claws, or veiled hands. Each of the symbolic figures turns his head to the center of the panels, which have richly worked foliate decoration springing, in the case of the lower panel, from fantastic beasts with human faces.
The chasse comes from the church of Saint-Martial, Champagnat in the diocese of Limoges, where Martial was considered the thirteenth apostle of Christ.
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Face (back of chasse): symbols of the Four Evangelists and richly worked foliate decoration springing from fantastic beasts with human faces.
Artwork Details
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Title:Chasse of Champagnat
Date:ca. 1150
Geography:Made in Limoges, France
Culture:French
Medium:Copper: engraved and gilt; champlevé enamel: blue-black, medium blue, turquoise, green, red, and white
Dimensions:Overall (Chasse): 4 7/8 x 7 7/16 x 3 3/8 in. (12.4 x 18.9 x 8.5 cm) Overall (Plaque): 2 3/4 x 7 7/16 x 1/16 in. (7 x 18.9 x 0.2 cm)
Classification:Enamels-Champlevé
Credit Line:Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number:17.190.685–87, .695, .710–.711
Inscription: (Surrounding figure on left): MA / RIA (Mary)
(Surrounding figure in center): A / W (Alpha, Omega)
(Surrounding figure on right): MARCIA / LIS ([Saint] Martial)
Edouard Laforge, Lyon (sold 1868); Art market, Paris (1891); Sigismond Bardac, Paris; Georges Hoentschel (French)(after 1900); [ Jacques Seligmann,Paris and New York (in January 1912)]; J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York (1912–1913)
Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux Arts de la Ville de Paris. "Exposition universelle de 1900. L'exposition retrospective de l'art francais," April 14–November 12, 1900.
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Arts of the Middle Ages: A Loan Exhibition," February 17–March 24, 1940.
New York. The Cloisters Museum & Gardens. "Spanish Medieval Art," December 15, 1954–January 30, 1955.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Year 1200: A Centennial Exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 12–May 10, 1970.
State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. "Dekorativno-Prikladnoe Iskusstvo ot Pozdnei Antichnosti do Pozdnei Gotiki," June–December 1989.
State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad. "Dekorativno-Prikladnoe Iskusstvo ot Pozdnei Antichnosti do Pozdnei Gotiki," February–July 1990.
Paris. Musée du Louvre. "L'Oeuvre de Limoges," October 23, 1995–January 22, 1996.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Enamels of Limoges, 1100-1350," January 22–June 16, 1996.
Espace Culturel BBL. "De Limoges a Silos," November 15, 2001–April 28, 2002.
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Catalogue officiel illustré de l'exposition retrospective de l'art français des origines à 1800. Exposition universelle de 1900. Paris: Lemercier & Cie., 1900. no. 2408, p. 292, only plaques 17.190.685–.687; ill. p. 77.
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Guibert, Louis. Les Vieux Émaux de Limoges à l'Exposition de 1900. Limoges: Veuve H. Ducourtieux, 1901. pp. 13–15, ill. across from p. 21 (17.190.685 only).
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Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 1st ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1925. pp. 32, 58, fig. 32–33, ill. p. 59 (17.190.685 and .695).
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Walter L. Medieval Spanish Enamels and Their Relation to the Origin and the Development of Copper Champlevé Enamels of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. London: Oxford University Press, 1936. pp. 57–58, 77, 89, fig. 8b.
Ross, Marvin Chauncey. "An Enameled Reliquary from Champagnat." In Medieval Studies in Memory of A. Kingsley Porter. Vol. 2. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1939. pp. 467–477, fig. 1–6.
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