Pimoxide de Limoges, 13th century.
Enameled copper
Pxide formed by a cylindrical box with conical cover, topped by a Latin cross. It is decorated with Christian anagrams, framed in circular posters located in the container and on the lid. These cartels alternate with interlocking motifs on a cobalt blue background, elements of Islamic influence typical of Limoges. The lid is articulated by a rear hinge, and in front it has a pin closure.
The pyxide or host is the vessel destined to keep the Sacred Form. It is a typological novelty that emerged at the end of the Romanesque period in Limoges, a center that produces enameled silverware. It originates from the Greek pyxide, a small box with a lid that used to be used to store jewelry or beauty products. The first hosts took the form of a cylindrical box with conical lid, articulated by a hinge or joined by a chain. Already in these first examples of Limoges it was frequent to finish off a cross, although it is rare that it has been preserved. This same structure will be maintained during the Gothic period, although it may already appear with or without a hinge and closure. Also, in the Gothic the host reduces its size, which indicates a change in its function. It is no longer used during mass, since this function is covered by the copon, but is used to give communion in their homes to the sick. The auction cross remains, which is essential for all Eucharistic pieces.
The Limoges workshop appears in the last quarter of the twelfth century, and prolongs its activity until the fourteenth century. In the fifteenth century it will bloom again, already with the new technique of painted enamel. It will be the most important enamel workshop, above Rhineland and Meuse, which disappeared in the twelfth century and was dedicated to the production of loose plates on request, which were then mounted on an object or joined together forming altar fronts. On the contrary, in Limoges a production of objects is launched, not only plates, decorated with enamels especially for the religious field, but also for the layman. They are cheaper pieces, based on copper, and very colorful for the enameled decoration, so they enjoyed enormous and immediate success throughout Europe. Limoges is also cited in the documents, which indicates that it was a transcendent center and known throughout Western Europe. One of the distinctive features of Limoges will be its drag of the bottom, very superficial, which does not go beyond two or three millimeters. In order to represent details, a very fine partition is used that can only be distinguished from the excavated by a careful observation through a magnifying lens. Taking into account what has been done in Rhineland and Mosa, Limoges introduces its own, unmistakable features, and in fact the enamels will be applied according to the client's taste, filling only the bottom, only the figures or both. Regarding the color range, it uses the one from the Mosa workshops, very varied, but adding new colors, such as olive green, a light grayish blue or white for carnations. In the long history of these workshops, one of his main successes was precisely not only making plates, but also complete pieces."
· Size: 7,5x7,5x13 cms.
ANTIQUES
MISCELLANEOUS;OTHER OBJECTS
