French, Limoges, second half 13th century

private collection, South Germany

Overall the condition of the censer is good. There is wear and some minor dirt to the surface consistent with age with rubbing to the gilding throughout and a few minor nicks. There are a few losses to the enamel especially to the lower section. There is some warping to the loops that held the chain and the edges of the vessel.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Censers are among the rarest enamelled copper objects from the workshops in Limoges. Their frequent use in mass and other ceremonies, in which the openwork orbs were swung to spread frankincense, must have frequently caused damage. Where contemporary censers from elsewhere were often designed as a stylised town, evoking the Eternal City, Limoges censers seem to follow a formal architecture of their own. The three other known complete examples, one in the Cloisters collection (inv. no. 50.7.3.a-b) and two in Musée de Cluny (CL 12091 and 22424), each consist of a small foot on which an elaborately enamelled hemispherical bowl rests. The top half has two or three tiers with bands of decoration. The larger band on the underside is decorated with further floral enamelling and sometimes foliate or animal openwork. The tier(s) above have the keyhole piercings which are found throughout Limoges metalwork, most notably lining the roofs of reliquary chasses, and are there to let the smoke out of the vessel. Suspension chains ran through the pairs of loops along the edges of both halves.

RELATED LITERATURE
E. Taburet-Delahaye and B. Drake Boehm (eds.), L'Oeuvre de Limoges. Emaux Limousins du Moyen Age, exh. cat. Musée du Louvre, Paris and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Paris, 1995, p. 303, no. 100 and p. 373, no. 131; E. Taburet-Delahaye, 'Les encensoirs limousins du musée de Cluny', A. von Hülsen-Esch and Dagmar Täube (eds.), "Luft unter die Flugel...". Beiträge zur mittelalterlichen Kunst. Festschrift für Hiltrud Westermann-Angerhausen, Hildesheim, 2010, pp. 92-98