Doorway and doorhandle and escutcheon, volcanic stone, from a house in Clermont-Ferrand, France, third quarter 16th century

The doorway consists of a round-topped arch crossed by a horizontal lintel, flanked on each side by two superimposed fluted pilasters of which the upper pair have ionic capitals and the lower have square capitals with echinus moulding. The same echinus moulding runs around the arch; the sides and lintel are decorated with a Greek fret, fininshed at the upper corners with a rosette and at the lower with a crescent. Above is a moulded pediment, surmounted by a narrow slab bearing a label flanked by garland ox-sculls; at the ends of the labels are an H and the device of three interlacing crescents, both crowned (for Henri II and Diane de Poitiers) and between them the text IN SOLE POSVIT TABERNACVLVM SVVM. PSAL. XVIII. and the date M. D. LVII. The underside of the lintel is carved with interlacing bands enclosing rosettes and scrolled labels with cherubs' heads.

Given by Mr J. H. Fitzhenry

This doorway was given to the V&A by Mr J H Fitzhenry in April 1906. It came from a house in the Place Devant-Clermont in the town of Clermont-Ferrand, noted by Fitzhenry in the acquisition records to have been the house of Diane de Poitiers, though this has not been confirmed. It dates to 1557, two years before the death of King Henry II, to whom Diane was a mistress, during his marriage to Catherine de Medici.

Clermont-Ferrand is famous for the chain of volcanoes surrounding it, known as he Chaîne des Puys, and as a result many of the city's Renaissance houses and Romanesque ecclesiastical buildings are made from dark volcanic rock, similar to that of this doorway.

Historical significance: This doorway comes from Place Devant-Clermont in Clermont-Ferrand and is dated 1557. It intrigued a number of 19th-century French scholars, such as Jean-Baptisite Bouillet in 1846 and César Daly in 1869, both of whom drew sketches of it. Daly also recorded a similar doorway belonging to the Maison Desgranges in Clermont-Ferrand which had a set of walnut doors (currently in the Louvre) inside it. According to Bouillet, the Maison Desgranges doorway has exactly the same frieze above it as this doorway and interestingly the doors are also dated 1557.

On the frieze above this door is the inscription IN SOLE POSVIT TABERNACVLVM SVVM. PSAL. XVIII. Taken from the verse in Psalm 18, the inscription translates as "In the heavens He has made a pavilion for the sun." It is part of a hymn to the Divine Law, comparing it to a "sun of justice." Thus, the doorway was probably made at the time of the creation of the Royal Seneschal's Court in Clermont-Ferrand. As this occurred under the reign of Henry II and Catherine, we might expect to see the presence of the king and queen's monograms, but while Henry's emblem is visible on the far left as the crowned letter H, the emblem on the far right is that of three interlinking crescents, the emblem commonly associated with Henry's mistress, Diane de Poitiers.

Versions of the design of three interlaced crescent moons, based on the moon emblem used by Diane, can also be seen at the Royal Palace of Fontainebleau (Henry and Catherine's residence), the Château de Chenonceau (which Henry gave to Diane as a gift) and at Anet (Diane's own château where she saw out her remaining years after Catherine had banished her from Chenonceau on Henry's death). Not only was Diane's interlinking crescent emblem employed on all three sites, but at Fontainebleau the initials of Henry and Catherine: interlaced Hs and Cs were carried out in such a way that the vertical of the H could also be considered as forming the D of "Diane." The fact that such devices were being imitated by the owners of this palace, signals their allegiance to the king and how quickly the influence of engraving work done at the royal site diffused across France.

Clermont-Ferrand is a city in the Auvergne region of France that was created by uniting two towns, Clermont and Montferrand, in 1630. Historically, these towns were very different. Clermont, as one of the oldest cities in France, dates back to antiquity and was renamed Clairmont (from Nemessos) in 848 after the fortified castle of Clarus Mons. During this era, it took on the mantle of an episcopal city ruled by its bishop, and as the starting point of the First Crusade, saw Pope Urban II preach there at the Council of Clermont in 1095.

To counterbalance Clermont’s power as an episcopal town, the Counts of Auvergne founded the town of Montferrand in 1120. Modelling it on the new cities of the Midi, they established it outside the jurisdiction of their castles, so they were beyond the immediate influence of the clerics. By 1292 this newly established town had become a royal city, but despite official decisions in favour of uniting, Clermont and Montferrand remained separate for another 300 years. In 1551, Clermont became a royal city, and by 1610, the inseparable property of the Crown. Thus, on 15 April 1630, the Edict of Troyes (the First Edict of Union) forcibly joined the two cities of Clermont and Montferrand, to become Clermont-Ferrand.

When it became a royal city in 1551, Catherine de Medici, wife of King Henry II, had inherited the claims of her mother, Madeleine de la Tour d'Auvergne, to become Countess of Clermont, succeeding the ancient Counts of Auvergne. Therefore, under the reign of Henry II, the bishop was reduced to his spiritual role, municipal freedom was increased and the court of Royal Seneschal was granted with a consular jurisdiction. This marked the establishment of royal justice and while the seigneurial courts were not suppressed as a result, their jurisdiction was limited to lower justice, with middle and high justice being henceforth the prerogative of the royal courts.

Like Catherine de Medici, Diane de Poiters (1499-1566), was also a descendant of the La Tour d'Auvergnes (Catherine’s maternal grand-father was Diane’s paternal grand-mother’s brother) and could trace her family back to the counts of Auvergne and Boulogne. More importantly, she was the long-standing mistress of Henry II, and one of the most powerful influences in his life. Of reportedly sharp intellect, Diane was politically astute to the extent that Henry trusted her to write many of his official letters, jointly signing them: HenriDiane. She was often referred to as the "brains behind the throne" and her confidence, maturity and loyalty made her one of his most dependable allies at court. Within a short amount of time she wielded considerable power within the realm, receiving the prestigious title of Duchess of Valentinois in 1548, then Duchesse d'Étampes in 1553.

But Henry's overt love for Diane did not stop there. The French Renaissance was an era of symbols, devices, coats of arms and family colours, since only the educated few could read. Grandees therefore adopted symbols or personal devices to represent themselves and Diane chose the crescent moon and a bow and arrow, as the primary symbols of her alter ego, Diana the huntress, goddess of the Moon and the Chase. Henry often used these symbols to honour Diane and drawings made for his armour (currently in the Louvre) show the crowned H together with Diane's bow, arrow and crescent emblems.

This handle was part from the door of the doorway from a house in Place Davant-Clermont at Clermont-Ferrand (Auvergne). Above is a frieze with a crowned 'H' and a device of three interlaced crescents. It also bears the text: 'IN SOLE POSVIT TABERNACVLVM SVVM. PSAL. XVIII' ('He hath set his tabernacle in the sun', Psalm 18.6), and the date 1557. The inscription is part of a hymn to the Divine Law, comparing it to a "sun of justice". Thus, the doorway was probably made at the time of the creation of the Royal Seneschal's Court in Clermont-Ferrand.
As this occurred under the reign of Henry II and Catherine, we might expect to see the presence of the king and queen's monograms, but while Henry's emblem is visible on the far left as the crowned letter H, the emblem on the far right, that of three interlinking crescents, is the emblem commonly associated with Henry's mistress, Diane de Poitiers.

Clermont-Ferrand is a city in the Auvergne region of France that was created by uniting two towns, Clermont and Montferrand, in 1630. Historically, these towns were very different. Clermont, as one of the oldest cities in France, dates back to antiquity and was renamed Clairmont (from Nemessos) in 848 after the fortified castle of Clarus Mons.

Clermont-Ferrand is famous for the chain of volcanoes surrounding it, known as he Chaîne des Puys, and as a result many of the city's Renaissance houses and Romanesque ecclesiastical buildings are made from dark volcanic rock, similar to that of this doorway.

908:1 to 44-1906