From Limousin workshops to Parisian workshops
Enamels have existed in the Byzantine Empire and the West since the Early Middle Ages (5th-10th centuries). Initially, the complicated and expensive Cloisonné enamel technique was used, with thin gold partitions separating different colours of enamel. But from the early 12th century, a cheaper technique was developed in Europe: Champlevé, in which troughs or cells are dug into a thick copper plate. The enamel (glass powder coloured by metallic oxides) liquefies during firing and adheres to the metal when cooling. Unglazed parts were gilded with mercury to create the illusion of gold.
The Champlevé enamelling technique grew from the middle of the 12th century in two main areas. In the northern hub in the Meuse and Rhine regions, its production remained underdeveloped. The southern area centred on the Limoges region, where a great many products of all kind were made and sold throughout Europe. In just one century, 120,000 items were made, with 12,000 still in our museums.
Limousin enamels were successful because the raw materials cost very little relative to the quality and brilliance of the objects produced. The Limousin workshops were renowned for making objects of all kinds, both liturgical (reliquaries of various shapes, bindings of sacred books, altar crosses, chalices, pyxes and crosiers) and secular (candlesticks, cups and caskets, etc.). Henry II Plantagenet and his sons contributed greatly to the success of these workshops by placing numerous orders for works of art for churches or prelates.
The quality and variety of products that had made Limousin craftsmanship famous began to decline towards the middle of the 13th century. Moving into the 14th century, Parisian goldsmiths gained ascendancy over the Limousin workshops once and for all. They brought Cloisonné enamels back into fashion by creating Plique-à-jour enamels to be applied to clothing. These were intended for illustrious patrons such as kings and queens and their inner circle.
Illustration
Pope Clement III and his crosier
The Mirror of Grandmont (Speculum Grandimontis)
Late 12th / early 13th century
Haute-Vienne Departmental Archives
SEM 68, f°75