Limoges, mid- 16th century

Collection of Don Gonzalo Maria de Ulloa y Ortega-Montanés (1833-1882), 9^th Count Adanero;

Thence by descent to his brother, Marquess of Castro Serna, Madrid;

Private collection, Madrid, until 2012;

Christie's London, 6 July 2012, lot 130;

Where acquired.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, workshops in Limousin specialised in the production of innovative and luxurious painted enamel objects and plaques. Among their prolific production are a small number of precious caskets decorated with plaques depicting profane, mythological or religious scenes. Most likely offered as wedding gifts, their function was undoubtedly to store precious objects (particularly jewellery). The present casket is illustrated with various scenes filled with cherubs on a blue enamel background, some scenes featuring Bacchus. In the lower register, a triumphal procession unfolds, including a cherub riding an elephant, followed by a donkey carrying trophies, and then Bacchus, identified by an inscription in gold letters.

The present casket can be associated with a corpus established by Suzanne Higgott, consisting of some twenty enamel boxes illustrating scenes known as the ‘Children's game’ (op. cit., pp. 230-231). Attributed in the 19th century to Colin Nouailher, the disparities in style and quality of these boxes led Sophie Baratte to reject this attribution (op. cit., p. 84). From a stylistic and technical point of view, the closest example to the present casket is kept at the British Museum (London, inv. 1913,1220.90) and has the same vivid colours and a similar design.

RELATED LITERATURE

S. Higgott, The Wallace Collection catalogue: Glass and Limoges Painted Enamels, London, 2011, pp.220-231, cat. 65; La Rencontre des Héros : regards croisés sur les émaux peints de la Renaissance appartenant aux collections du Petit Palais et du Musée municipal de l'Evêché de Limoges, exh. cat. Limoges, Musée municipal de l'Evêché, 2002, pp.58-61; S. Baratte, Les Emaux peints de Limoges, Paris, 2000, p.84.