Quatrilobed Plaque (c. 1280–1300): Art, History and Details

Quatrilobed Plaque (c. 1280–1300) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This rare four-lobed plaque is a superb example of émail de plique, a virtuoso enameling method popular in Paris during the late 1200s with the court of Philip the Fair (reigned 1285–1314). Plaques like this were prepared in advance to be attached to larger works including crosses, chalices, reliquaries, or even sewn into precious fabrics for decoration. Given the very distinctive shape of this plaque it is certain to have been created for a specific commission.

Object facts

• Title: Quatrilobed Plaque
• Date: c. 1280–1300
• Culture: France, Paris, Ile-de-France, Gothic period, early 14th century
• Type: Metalwork
• Technique: Gold, translucent enamel
• Dimensions: Overall: 4.8 x 4.8 cm (1 7/8 x 1 7/8 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1932.537

A detail from the museum

Julien was not the only artisan to produce émaux de plique; therefore, an exact attribution to an artist is problematic.

Collection credit

The Mary Spedding Milliken Memorial Collection, Gift of William Mathewson Milliken

Further reading listed by the museum

• H. F. “A Quatrefoil Medallion of Translucent Enamel.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 20, no. 3 (March 1933): 38–41.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.

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.