Plaque of Christ in Majesty
Unknown Artist
12th–13th century
Medium
Champlevé enamel, copper
Dimensions
Overall: 7 3/8 x 6 5/16 x 1/8 in. (18.7 x 16 x 0.3 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
17.190.762
Art Historical Context
Behold the *Plaque of Christ in*, a luminous gem from 12th–13th France, now housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Art department. This small copper plaque (just 7 3/8 x 6 5/16 inches) captures Christ enthroned in divine glory—a quintessential Romanesque icon, symbolizing his eternal power and judgment. Such images adorned churches, altars, and reliquaries, inspiring awe in medieval worshippers and reminding them of Christ's supremacy. Crafted using the champlevé enamel technique, the artist carved shallow channels into the copper base, filled them with vibrant powdered glass enamels in r...