Small enamelled plate, Cl. 21386 © GrandPalaisRmn / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Small enamelled plate, Cl. 21387 © GrandPalaisRmn / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Small enamelled plate, Cl. 23411a © GrandPalaisRmn / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Small enamelled plate, Cl. 23411b © GrandPalaisRmn / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Émail de plique, Cl. 23411 c © GrandPalaisRmn / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Small enamelled plate, Cl. 23411d © GrandPalaisRmn / Jean-Gilles Berizzi

Small enamelled plates

Description

On display - room 10

Circa 1300

High Middle Ages

The term for the plique du jour technique used in "small enamelled plates" may come from the term "applique", which is used to refer to ornaments sewn onto garments. These luxurious decorative pieces are custom creations by Parisian goldsmiths around 1300.

They display an ornamental array of clovers, hearts, and circles, bordered by fine golden partitions and filled with opaque blue, red, and white enamel, or translucent clear enamel.

Crafted using a variation of the cloisonné enamel technique, they are exquisite and refined, allowing transparency and light to interact. 
 

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