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Not currently on display at the V&A

Pendant

ca. 1400 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
France (made)

This tiny sculpture would have embellished a miniature devotional altarpiece. It was probably made for a member of the French nobility.

The technique, known as ronde bosse, was the most fashionable enamel technique of the day. It involved covering a three-dimensional or high-relief surface with enamel and was invented around 1370 in Paris, the greatest centre of medieval goldsmiths in Europe.


Object details

Categories
Jewellery
Metalwork
Religion
Christianity
Europeana Fashion Project
Object type
Pendant
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Pendant
  • Frame (19th Century)
  • Paper
Materials and techniques
Gold and <i>ronde bosse</i> enamel
Gold
Enamel
Enamelled
Brief description
Gold pendant of the Virgin and Child with ronde bosse enamel, France, about 1400
Physical description
A figure of the Virgin and Child, gold, enamelled in the ronde bosse technique. The piece is hollow-backed, and the composition is a high relief. The Virgin is shown three-quarter length wearing a green dress with gold border and low neckline, and a white gold-bordered cloak lined with red. On her head is a gold crown. She holds the end of a gold staff in one hand and supports the feeding infant Christ with the other. He wears a loincloth with a pattern of red flowers and green leaves.
Dimensions
  • Height: 5.1cm
  • Width: 3cm
Production
The Virgin's crown added in the 19th century
Subjects depicted
Christianity
Faith
Crowns (Headdresses)
Shepherd's Crooks
Mary (Virgin Mary)
Jesus Christ
Summary
This tiny sculpture would have embellished a miniature devotional altarpiece. It was probably made for a member of the French nobility.

The technique, known as ronde bosse, was the most fashionable enamel technique of the day. It involved covering a three-dimensional or high-relief surface with enamel and was invented around 1370 in Paris, the greatest centre of medieval goldsmiths in Europe.
Bibliographic references
  • Marian Campbell, Medieval Enamels (London 1983), p.7
  • Ronald, W. Lightbown, Mediaeval European Jewellery, with a catalogue of the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum (London 1992), p.534, cat.90
  • Paola Venturelli, Smalto, oro e preziosi: Oreficeria e arti suntuarie nel Ducato di Milano tra Visconti e Sforza (Venice 2003), p.26, fig. 13
  • Marian Campbell, Medieval Jewellery in Europe 1100-1500 (London 2009), p. 16, fig. 9
  • Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance, exh. cat., Victoria and Albert Museum, London 2023, p.121, cat.1.14 (S. Villani)
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
829:1 to 3-1891

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15240/pendant-unknown/
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