Chasse
Unknown Artist
13th century
Medium
Champlevé enamel, copper-gilt
Dimensions
Overall: 9 1/16 x 9 5/8 x 4 1/4 in. (23 x 24.4 x 10.8 cm)
Classification
Enamels-Champlevé
Culture
French
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.190.335
Art Historical Context
Behold the exquisite *Chasse*, a 13th-century French reliquary box crafted by an unknown artist, now gracing the Medieval Art collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. This treasure, measuring just over9 by 9 inches and standing 4 inches tall, was designed to house sacred relics—fragments of saints' bones holy objects venerated in medieval Christianity. Donated in 1917 by the financier J. Pierpont, it exemplifies the devotional artistry of Gothic-era France, likely from the renowned workshops of Limoges. The chasse's brilliance comes from its champlevé enamel technique on a copper-gilt ba...