Four capitals (trefoil leaves, holly leaves, vine leaves, ivy leaves)

These capitals come from the Abbey of Saint-Denis. 

From 1231, Abbot Eudes Clément (1228-1245) began the reconstruction of the nave of the abbatial church, in order to connect the ante-nave and the chevet erected under the abbacy of Suger between 1137 and 1144. The construction project involved restoring the upper sections of the chevet and significantly expanding the transept. It spanned several decades and was only completed when the dedication took place in 1281. The new building immediately stood out as an example of Rayonnant Gothic architecture.

The associated sculpted decor moves away from a simplified and stylised representation of the plant kingdom. It perfectly illustrates the era's growing fascination with images that increasingly relied on the observation of nature.

The four foliage-decorated capitals at the Musée de Cluny can be attributed to the triforium of the southern arm of the transept or the nave in the 1250s. They were probably replaced when the basilica was restored in the middle of the 19th century. They provide an insight into the variety and virtuosity of the plant repertoire: the leaves of flat parsley, holly, Virginia creeper or ivy have new freedom to spread on their support, a basket, the shapes of which they embrace without it keep them captive.