Cross; Silos or Conques, late 13th-early 14th... Lot 2

Cross; Silos or Conques, late 13th-early 14th century. Enamelled copper. Attached study of the piece. Measurements: 31 x 31 cm. This cross consists of a central square copper plate and, on each of its sides, there are four copper pieces attached in the form of a cross, which are joined to the central body on the back with three equidistant rivets made of the same material. The entire piece is covered with gold plating on its front face, with losses of gold plating that are raised in many of its parts. The four lateral plates joined to the central body are arranged in the form of lisle leaves, forming a "flordelised or florenzed cross", a cross that began to be used during the 13th century, and the reverse is of plain copper in its colour, where the union of the four wings of the cross to the central piece is evident, by means of three small equidistant copper pieces. The copper plates show only a few engraved grooves of the main iconographies (Christ and the four symbols of the evangelists). Iconographically it follows 12th-century models from Conques/Limoges (France). In the centre of the cross is a seated Christ in Majesty or Pantocrator, dressed in a green tunic and blue cloak, with blond hair and beard, without a moustache, his head surrounded by a white and green nimbus. His right hand is blessing and his left hand is holding what may be the closed Book of Life. The blue tunic reaches to the lower edge of the plaque, and the feet are not depicted, as they are usually barefoot. In the background: earthly symbols - the main stars: to his right the sun, and to his left the (full) moon, both with their faces and all surrounded by thirteen stars, as the supreme lord of time. At the ends of the cross is a tetramorph. That is, each of the symbols representing each Evangelist, accompanied by his name on a ribbon. Enamelling and glazing, as a technique of glazed enamel or porcelain enamel in art, ceramics and other crafts, is the result of fusing powdered glass with a substrate through a heating process, typically between 750 and 850 °C. The powder melts and grows and hardens to form a smooth, highly durable glazed coating on metal, glass or ceramics. The most famous were the French workshops of Limoges and Conques. The production of these Limousin workshops, the earliest evidence of which dates from the second quarter of the 12th century, spread throughout Europe, favoured by the decision of the Lateran Council IV in 1215 authorising the use of enamel enamel. In the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos, the production of late Romanesque enamels, inspired by Limoges, developed mainly during the 11th and 12th centuries. Few examples of this type remain today. To the south of Limoges, and at the beginning of the 12th century, the town of Conques, on one of the branches of the Way of St. James, flourished a workshop of great importance that made magnificent pieces of enamel, with vibrant colours, in beautiful shades of turquoise, green and red.