French, Limoges, circa 1190-1200

probably Dr Charles Brown, Baden (1863-1924);

Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, September 3-7, 1935, lot 1201 (illustrated), (with provenance from the estate of Dr Brown of Baden);consigned by ‘Me’, probably Arnold Mettler of San Gallen (unsold);

Carl Bümming, Darmstadt;

Julius Böhler (stock # 38225), acquired from above August 10, 1938;

Fritz Thyssen, Mülheim, acquired from the above August 10, 1938 for RM 37,240; and confiscated from him by the National Socialist Authorities 1939;

In storage with the Folkwang Museum Essen from February 1940 (Inventory # FM14);

Marburg Central Collecting Point, after 1945 (inventory # 1281);

Restituted to the Thyssen family by the British administration after May 1949; and thence by descent to Federico Augusto Count Zichy-Thyssen de Zich et Vásonykeö;

From whose family acquired.

Note on Provenance:

The châsse bears the wax seal of the Royal Prussian post office in Frankfurt-am-Main which dates from between 1866 and 1871, which suggests that this piece was in Frankfurt in the 19th Century.

Sotheby's has consulted extensively with public institutions and private researchers regarding the provenance of this lot. We have also conducted exhaustive searches of pre-WWII European and American records of collections, auctions and exhibitions containing Limoges enamels and have found no trace of the châsse prior to 1935. We have not found the châsse on any publicly-available database of art displaced or lost between 1933 and 1945.

This stunning châsse, or reliquary casket, typifies an aesthetic introduced by the enamellers of Limoges at the end of the 12th century, incorporating vivid enameled designs, very fine engraving and detailed modelling in the applied heads of the figures. Reliquaries were traditionally ordered by ecclesiastical dignitaries or by the king's entourage in order to conceal, protect or commemorate the relics of Saints. The geometric shape of the reliquaries symbolically evokes both those of ancient sarcophagi and of medieval churches.  

What is particularly distinctive in the present châsse is the meticulously punched decorations throughout the gilded borders of the circles and outer edges which enliven the surface of the piece. The punched decorative motifs, coupled with the very fine rendering of the raised heads and the boldly engraved details of the figures' bodies, present a jewel-like vessel of very high quality. 

The front panel and sloping gable depict Christ in Majesty flanked by two Apostles, each within mandorlas, and two angels flanking the Lamb of God, respectively, all adorned with carefully chased gilt copper heads and set against a lapis-lazuli enameled ground. The ends of the châsse include similarly engraved figures of standing Apostles, each with two horizontal bands of turquoise-colored enamel and surrounded by borders with an x-form motif. The deep blue ground is embellished throughout with multi-coloured enamel circles and quatrefoils as well as borders of halved flower heads.

The reverse of the châsse incorporates an upper panel with the Three Kings on horseback and two (associated) upright enameled panels with foliate scrolls flanking the central door (lock and enameled panel lacking). The iconography of the Three Kings riding to Bethlehem was popular in the Limoges workshops although reliquaries with that subject were not usually intended to house the relics of the Kings. However, the glorification of the Three Kings may have related to the three sons of Henry II Plantagenêt who played the role of the Three Kings during a ceremony of homage to the King of France during the Epiphany in the year 1173. While representations of the Kings do appear on a variety of reliquaries -particularly those depicting the Adoration with the Virgin and Child- there is no iconographic homogeneity in present châsse, which may indicate that that panel is associated from another fine reliquary châsse.

The front lower panel of the present châsse also relates to the composition and decoration of a châsse in the Museo Arqueológico, Burgos dating from the late 12th century.¹ The three seated figures are contained within large lozenge-shaped surrounds, and the graded enameled border of dark blue to white is also of the same design. A further comparison can be made with the châsse in the Musées du Mans, illustrated by Rupin², which incorporates full length figures of saints within quatrefoils rather than mandorlas. While the three seated figures and the angels do appear on other châsses from the period, the iconography of the Lamb of God included on the front sloping panel is seen infrequently. One published example incorporating the Lamb is a reliquary dated circa 1180-90 in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (acc. no. 17.190.523).

¹ Gauthier, p. 329, no. 47

² Rupin, pl. 32, fig. 397

RELATED LITERATURE

Rupin, L'œuvre de Limoges, Paris, 1890;

M. M. Gauthier, Emaux du Moyen Age Occidental, Fribourg, 1972;

B. Boehm et. al, L’ Oeuvre de Limoges, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995, no. 44, pp. 172-3.