French Metalwork before 1603
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Glasgow Museum has some excellent examples of medieval and Renaissance metalwork from France, most of which were donated by Sir William and Lady Burrell in 1944. Particularly notable are the objects originating from the great metalworking centre of Limoges. From the twelfth to the fourteenth century, Limoges specialised in a technique known as champlevé enamelling. This technique used colourful glass enamels and gilding to transform base-metal goods into colourful and glimmering objects that mimicked the appearance of bejewelled gold. Champlevé enamelling was not unique to Limoges, but it rose to become the pre-eminent centre of the craft. Exported all over Europe, ‘opus lemovicense’ (Limoges work) was prized not only for its appearance but also its sturdiness, making it an ideal material for both secular and religious goods that required regular handling, such as book covers, candlesticks, caskets and reliquaries. The collection includes some particularly beautiful examples, including internationally significant items such as the Thomas Becket reliquary chasse (casket) and a fine Eucharistic dove. The collection also includes later, sixteenth century, works also attributed to Limoges. By this time technical developments allowed for the free painting of enamels onto copper in a manner similar to the painting of paint on canvas. Limoges work was particularly popular with nineteenth century antiquarians and collectors. This popularity was exploited by forgers who flooded the market with counterfeit pieces, a number of which have been identified in the collection.
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