Elijah and the widow of Zarephat, Cl. 23823 © GrandPalaisRmn / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Elijah and the widow of Zarephat

Enamel plaque

Description

On display - room 7

12th century

High Middle Ages

This plaque, created in the Meuse Valley in the mid-12th century, was part of a typological cross, meaning it made comparisons between scenes from the Old and New Testaments. The colour gradation is characteristic of the golden age of Mosan enamellers working in the 12th-13th centuries.

Few champlevé enamels of this type have survived, making this work even more rare; but its iconography, which represents an episode of the Old Testament, the encounter between the prophet Elijah with the widow of Zaraphet, is a frequently recurring theme.

The two pieces of wood shaped like a cross also reminds of the Crucifixion.

From one artwork to another

Head of the king of Judah No. 6, Notre-Dame de Paris, Cl. 22988 © GrandPalaisRmn / René-Gabriel Ojeda

Heads of the kings of Judah

First half of the 13th century

Angel holding the instruments of the Passion, Cl. 18762 © GrandPalaisRmn / René-Gabriel Ojeda

Angels of Poissy

Late 13th century - early 14th century