Master Sculpture and Works of Art Part II
Master Sculpture and Works of Art Part II
Property from a Private Collection
French, Limoges, early 13th century and later
Processional Cross
Lot Closed
January 30, 07:33 PM GMT
Estimate
30,000 - 50,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
French, Limoges, early 13th century and later
Processional Cross
gilt copper and enamel, set with glass gems
height 24 7/8 in., 63.2cm, with later ebonized wood stand
Processional crosses were produced in large numbers during the middle ages. Copper and enamel examples, like the present one, featured raised forms that made the figures easier to see when the crosses were carried during the liturgy. The figures would be worked in copper separately, and then applied to the surface of the cross.
The figure of Christ on the present cross is similar to a slightly larger one in the collection of the Louvre, Paris (Inv. OA 9956) that has a similar frontal position and sophisticated technique. While there are a number of comparable figures in museum collections that have been similarly detached from their supports, it is rare to find a complete processional cross such as the present work.
RELATED LITERATURE:
B. Drake Boehm and E. Taburet-Delahaye eds., Enamels of Limoges 1100-1350, Paris and New-York, Musée du Louvre and Metropolitan Museum, 23 October 1995 - 16 June 1996, pp. 186-187, n. 50.