COLUMBIAN HISTORICAL EXPOSITION AT MADRID. 81 



teenth. Whether the series begins so early is perhaps doubtful, but some of the 

 examples ru ay well be of the twelfth or, more probably, thirteenth, century. These ear 

 lier crosses are flat plates of copper, gilt, and decorated with champleve enamels in the 

 style of Limoges, but neither so well drawn nor so perfect in execution as the French 

 examples, though it is by no means improbable that the Spanish enamel of this kind 

 is an imitation of that of Limoges. The most noticeable peculiarity in design in 

 the Spanish crosses of this period is the presence of four oval plates upon the four 

 limbs of the cross, projecting beyond the edges of the limbs, and in each plate is a 

 subject in enamel, but those upon the horizontal arms seem always to be the Peni 

 tent and Impenitent Thieves. The form of the cross remains practically the same 

 up to the sixteenth century, and the four oval plates are frequently found at that 

 date, though these two are then no longer reserved for the two thieves, but are 

 sometimes devoted to figures of saints, the Evangelists, etc. 



A very large cross from the diocese of Vich merits special notice. It is of silver, 

 nearly 5 feet in total height, the surface quite plain, except for a circular disk upon 

 each arm, in the center of which is a six foil with a subject in translucent enamel. 

 This cross differs so much from all the others that it might be thought to be of for 

 eign make, but the probability is that it was made in Catalonia, and, perhaps, near 

 Vich itself, where the influence of French designs would be more felt than in the 

 more southern parts of Spain. It is attributed, and I think rightly, to the fifteenth 

 century. 



The Spanish crosses of the sixteenth and late fifteenth centuries have a character 

 fully as peculiar and national as those of earlier date. Those of the sixteenth cen 

 tury are characterized by a richness of detail that makes them look at a little dis 

 tance like filigree work, but a closer examination shows that this rich effect is pro 

 duced by a multiplicity of canopies, edgings, and pendants, symmetrically designed 

 in a semigothic style. The richest and at the same time the best in general design 

 of this kind, is that from the Cathedral of Osuna (Seville), though many others 

 from Salamanca, Astorga, and other cathedrals are very good. Nearly all, however, 

 have suffered, and their enameled details are destroyed by having been passed 

 through the fire to render them bright. 



A very interesting class of remains to be found in Spanish churches is that of the 

 caskets placed upon the altar and used as reliquaries, and in one case as a receptacle 

 for the Host. Many of these are of pure Moorish work, with Saracenic designs and 

 inscriptions. The earliest and most important of these is a large casket of carved 

 ivory with mounts of champleve&quot; enamel, exhibited by the Provincial Council of 

 Palencia. The whole surface is carved in relief with scrolls of conventional leaves 

 of the style common in the ornamentation of the Alhambra, the stems being inter 

 laced. On the sides are hunting scenes ; on the body of the casket are broad bor 

 ders formed of pairs of birds and deer alternating, each pair facing, and above them 

 a series of triple arches. The cover is in the same style but that the borders are 

 much simpler, and in one panel a piece from another casket has been inserted. The 

 enameled mounts are an interesting feature and form an important landmark in the 

 history of enameling in Spain. The patterns of these are the simplest geometrical 

 designs, and the colors blue and white ; but there is every appearance of these being 

 the original mounts, and if this be the case they must be of the middle of the elev 

 enth century. For the great historical value of this object consists in its bearing 

 the date of its manufacture, A. H. 441 (=A. D. 1049-50), the name of its maker, 

 Abd-er Rahman ibn Zeyyan, who made it at Cuenca for Hosam-ud-Daulat Abu 

 Mohammed. 



Another casket of nearly equal importance comes from the Cathedral of Gerona, 

 where it is usually placed upon the High Altar. This, though equally of Arab 

 work, is very different in style, as well as material. It is entirely covered with 

 plates of silver gilt, embossed with open scrolls inclosing symmetrical flowers, the 

 details of which are inlaid with niello. Around the edge of the lid, as in the pre- 

 11. Ex. 100 6 



