1901.] on Enamels. 513 



time wheu that splendid outburst of artistic feeling took place which 

 made French cathedrals the wonder and envy of the world. 



Most of the early Limoges work was champleve, that is to say, 

 instead of the plate being prepared by putting walls on to a thin 

 sheet of metal, the hollows were carved out of a thick sheet. 



The metal employed as a foundation was bronze, that is to say, 

 copper mixed with about ten per cent, of tin, or else brass (copper 

 and zinc). The hollows were cut out to the depth of about one- 

 twentieth of an inch and left rough at the bottom, so as to give a 

 better hold to the enamel, which was opaque, and made by staining 

 opaque-white enamel with the oxides of various metals, so as to 

 produce two or three shades of blue and green, yellow and black. 



The faces in Limoges champleve were generally left unenamelled, 

 but chased up and filled in with black, like church brasses. Some- 

 times the heads were modelled in relief, and fastened on with rivets. 

 Each colour was usually put in a separate compartment, but some- 

 times two colours will be found in juxtaposition in one compartment. 

 The face of the enamel was ground and polished, and the metalwork 

 was frequently gilded by the mercury process, which only requires a 

 low heat. 



Limoges champleve was rough and bold, but often slovenly. On 

 a large scale, as when it was employed to fill up the brasses on 

 tombs, it had a fine effect. Traces of this work are yet to be seen 

 on the battered tombs of the kings at Westminster Abbey ; but some 

 fine enamelled brasses, in a good state of preservation, exist in 

 France. 



The colours used for champleve were usually opaque, like coloured 

 sealing wax. 



When transparent enamel was introduced the style of champleve 

 changed, and it became what is known as basse-taille. 



There are some specimens of this work at South Kensington, 

 and a small one is also in the Wallace Collection. There is a set of 

 six scenes from the life of Christ in the Louvre. Each plate is 

 circular, and about two and a half inches in height. They were no 

 doubt used as ornaments for a reliquary. The drawing is rather 

 archaic, being in the style of the Flemish masters, who had so great 

 an influence upon French art ; but in execution, colour, finish, and 

 artistic feeling, nothing better can be desired. 



With the exception of one or two dents on the edges, they are as 

 fresh as though they were not twenty years old. Indeed, as one looks 

 at them, it is impossible to realise that they were done at least five 

 hundred years ago. It is hardly too much to say that these six 

 modest little plates, which a casual visitor at the Louvre might pass 

 by without notice, are, from an artistic point of view, better than 

 anything that has been put out by all the porcelain and enamel 

 factories of Europe for the last two hundred years. 



With basse-taille, mediaeval art may be said to close ; in fact, 

 Eenaissance has already begun. 



Vol. XVI. (No. 95.) 2 m 



