UNKNOWN GOLDSMITH, French
(active c. 1180 in Limoges)

Casket with Scenes of Courtly Love

c. 1180
Champlevé enamel, 9 x 21 x 16 cm
British Museum, London

The designs of the Limoges enamels reflects the influence of Islamic art. Backgrounds are usually decorated with a dense, intertwined pattern, or with small geometric patterns. The colours of the enamels are anti-naturalistic, and are applied in flat areas. Limoges enamels were produced not in response to a commission from a patron, but in answer to market demand provided by the pilgrimage route through southwest France and northern Spain to Santiago de Compostela.