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Chasse with Christ in Majesty and the Lamb of God

ca. 1180–90
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 304
This chasse served as a container for saints’ relics—often bones or pieces of cloth. The chasse depicts Christ in Majesty surrounded by saints on the lower front and the Lamb of God, emblematic of Jesus, flanked by angels on the sloping roof. Access to the sacred contents was through the locked door on one end. It shows Saint Peter, called by Jesus to be the keeper of the keys of heaven, as the guardian of the box’s holy relics.

Note the wonderfully varied designs of the columns and the saints’ haloes, the exceptional translucent red, the scrolling pattern of the gilded ground, and the blue enamel that defines hair, brows, digits, and sinews. The design of the back simulates a costly silk textile.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Chasse with Christ in Majesty and the Lamb of God
  • Date: ca. 1180–90
  • Geography: Made in Limoges, France
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Champlevé enamel: blue-black; dark, medium, and light blue; turquoise, dark and light green, yellow, red, translucent wine red, and white; wood core, painted red on exterior; copper: engraved, scraped, stippled, and gilt.
  • Dimensions: Overall: 8 11/16 x 9 1/4 x 4 3/16 in. (22 x 23.5 x 10.7 cm)
  • Classification: Enamels-Champlevé
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.523
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

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Chasse of Champagnat, Copper: engraved and gilt; champlevé enamel: blue-black, medium blue, turquoise, green, red, and white, French
Chasse of Champagnat
French
ca. 1150
Tabernacle of Cherves, Copper (plaques): engraved, scraped, stippled, and gilt; (appliqués): repoussé, chased, engraved, scraped, and gilt; champlevé enamel: medium blue, turquoise, medium green, yellow, red, and white, modern wood mount, French
Tabernacle of Cherves
French
ca. 1220–1230
Reliquary Bust of Saint Yrieix, Silver and gilded silver with rock crystal, gems, and glass, French
Reliquary Bust of Saint Yrieix
French
ca. 1220–40, with later grill
Chasse with the Crucifixion and Christ in Majesty, Copper: engraved, chiseled, stippled, and gilt; champlevé enamel: dark, medium, and light blue; turquoise, dark and light green, yellow, red, and white; wood core, painted red on exterior, French
Chasse with the Crucifixion and Christ in Majesty
French
ca. 1180–90
Chasse with Christ in Majesty and Apostles, Copper: engraved, chiseled, stippled, gilt; champlevé enamel: blue-black, dark, medium, and light blue; turquoise, green, yellow, red, translucent red, and white, French
Chasse with Christ in Majesty and Apostles
French
ca. 1190–1200

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