Plaque with the Crucifixion
Medium
Gilt copper, champlevé enamel
Dimensions
18.1 × 16.5 cm (7 1/8 × 6 1/2 in.)
Classification
enamel
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
46276
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This plaque was probably once part of a casket or tabernacle. It was produced by the specialized workshops for enamel objects in Limoges, France. Here Christ on the cross is flanked by the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Evangelist. The Christ’s central importance is signaled by his larger size and by the fact that his is the only figure fully modeled in the round rather than engraved into the copper support. The imagery on tabernacles that survive intact (notably in the Musée du Louvre, Paris, a...