Enamel Plaque from the Altar Frontal of Saint Martin at Orense (Spain) (1174–1213 (probably before 1188)): Art, History and Details

Enamel Plaque from the Altar Frontal of Saint Martin at Orense (Spain) (1174–1213 (probably before 1188)) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This almond-shaped enamel plaque depicts the half-length figure of an angel inscribed in a medallion. A nearly identical plaque in the cathedral treasury of St. Martin at Orense in Galicia (Northern Spain) suggests that this plaque once formed part of a large altar frontal commissioned by Bishop Alfonso of Orense (reigned 1174–1213). Fifty-three enameled plaques of this important ensemble are still preserved at the Cathedral of Orense. Others, including this one, were possibly removed during the Napoleonic era.

Object facts

• Title: Enamel Plaque from the Altar Frontal of Saint Martin at Orense (Spain)
• Date: 1174–1213 (probably before 1188)
• Culture: France, Limoges
• Type: Enamel
• Technique: copper: engraved, stippled, gilded; champlevé enamel
• Dimensions: Average: 13.7 x 8.9 cm (5 3/8 x 3 1/2 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1966.735

Collection credit

Gift of Kelvin Smith

Further reading listed by the museum

• “Year in Review.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 54, no. 10 (1967).
• Gaborit-Chopin, Danielle, Frédéric Tixier, Jean Marie Guillouët, and Dany Sandron. L'œuvre de Limoges et sa diffusion: trésors, objets, collections. Rennes: Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2011.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.