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Enamel Plaque from the Altar Frontal of Saint Martin at Orense (Spain)
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this 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.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineEnamel Plaque from the Altar Frontal of Saint Martin at Orense (Spain), 1174–1213 (probably before 1188). France, Limoges. Copper: engraved, stippled, gilded; champlevé enamel; average: 13.7 x 8.9 cm (5 3/8 x 3 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Kelvin Smith, 1966.735
