1/ Central plate of a cross
Enamelled, engraved Champlevé copper
Master of the “Plantagenet royal workshop”
France, Limousin atelier, circa 1185 - 1195
Loaned to Saumur, Château - Museum
Inv No.919.13.2.198
This decorative plaque was originally attached to a large wooden (processional) cross.The cloth around Christ's waist is blue, dotted with gold and edged with a turquoise orphrey with red beads.
2/ Reliquary shrine
Wood, copper, gilding, enamel
France, Limousin workshop, 13th century
Loaned to Saumur, Château - Museum
Inv No.919.13.2.184
A reliquary shrine is a sarcophagus-shaped casket with a pitched lid, like the roof of a church.Relics were kept in it.
3/ Pyx
Enamelled, engraved Champlevé copper
Origin unknown, first quarter of the 13th century
Musée de la Société Archéologique de Touraine collection
Inv No.924.002.0001
Cylindrical box with lid to be used to house the consecrated hosts in the Christian liturgy.The conical lid has a fleuron on the top. The pyx is decorated with fantastic animals, birds, fleurons and foliage.
FOR KIDS
This small box is made of enamelled copper. Enamelling is a technique invented in the Middle Ages, using coloured glass powder which, when applied to a metal surface, liquefies and fuses with the metal as it cools.
On this enamelled box, you can see some fantastic animals!