Pair of Plaques (Appliqué) (1300s): Art, History and Details

Pair of Plaques (Appliqué) (1300s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This oblong plaque is decorated with pseudo-Kufic (fake Arabic) designs indicating that it was produced in Spain under Muslim influence. It may have served as an applied ornament to some article of personal adornment such as a belt. It is possible that the design was inspired by Arabic coinage.

Object facts

• Title: Pair of Plaques (Appliqué)
• Date: 1300s
• Culture: Spain (Hispano-Moresque), 14th century
• Type: Enamel
• Technique: translucent enamel on gold
• Dimensions: Overall: 2 x 3 cm (13/16 x 1 3/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1946.425

A detail from the museum

Enamel can be made opaque or translucent; when translucent, it resembles stained glass, allowing light to pass through.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d. X1491
• University of Pittsburgh. History of Enamels, VII-XX Century. Catalogue of an Exhibition, March 13-April 8, 1950. 1950.
• Cooper Union Museum for the Arts of Decoration, and Everett Parker Lesley. Enamel, An Historic Survey to the Present Day. 1954.

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.