A Limousin ciborium made of gilt copper with champlevé enamel decoration is preserved in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona (MNAC).1 This outstanding eucharistic vessel was acquired by the Museum in 1918 after it was discovered in an unknown parish church in the Catalan region of la Cerdanya, in the Pyrenees, where it was still being used as a chrismatory. The discoverer, Joaquim Folch i Torres, published a monographic study shortly after in which he pointed out similarities with the famous Maître Alpais ciborium preserved in the Louvre, but suggested that the piece came from the Rhineland area.2 However, his arguments attributing it to German origin do not offer any compelling evidence, and all later historiography has related the ciborium to Limousin workmanship. This is particularly based on contributions made by Marie-Madeleine Gauthier,3 who studied the work closely in 1959 when she was invited to Barcelona to examine the Limousin enamels in the MNAC collection. Gauthier linked the ciborium to a group of Limousin works decorated with similar figures with wide expressive faces, which she called the aux grands yeux group. She also established the generally accepted chronology of the ciborium, claiming it was made between 1195 and 1200.
Although, as far as I am concerned, the ciborium was made slightly later (vide infra), this practically coincides with the earliest documented references found in Catalonia concerning the oeuvre de Limoges, such as those found in an inventory at the monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses (1217), the testament of canon Joan Colom (1229) and the purchase of a crosier in Rome by Pere d’Amenys, abbot of Sant Cugat del Vallès (1238).4 Consequently the ciborium in Barcelona belongs to the earliest stage when Limousin products were first imported into medieval Catalonia, and this coincides with the beginning of the wide dissemination of Limoges enamels throughout Europe, brought on by the definitive development of international trade and also by Rome’s explicit approval and recognition of the liturgical and decorative value of these products following the fourth Lateran Council in 1215.5
The ciborium is a globe-shaped work in the form of a closed vessel with a striking gold effect. It is made up of a hemispherical bowl and cover that fit together to form a central body measuring some 140 mm in diameter (Figure 14.1). The knop or crowning feature has been lost as has the foot or lower support, which was not very tall and probably had a truncated conical shape. The whole of the outer surface of the ciborium is drawn together by a reticular strip of wide lines which gives rise to a series of rhomboidal compartments where the enamelled decoration is located. The latter combines detailed vegetal features (folded stems and stalks which end in tri-lobed fleurons) and human figures. This decoration was created by applying the enamel, whilst the whole of the background of the work remains completely in reserve. As noted, this procedure was common at the origin of champlevé enamelled works of southern Europe, but it was not so usual around 1200 when the workshops of Limoges were engaged in turning out objects with reserved figures on enamelled backgrounds.
The figures portrayed in the ciborium occupy two rows on the cover and one on the bowl of the vessel. There are eighteen half-length figures in all, none of which bear any special features and they can only be told apart by their postures and gestures, which are quite detailed and lively. Twelve of them are holding conversations in pairs and all (except one) hold a book in their hands, so they are most likely to be the apostles (Figure 14.2). The other six (those in the upper part) have been identified as being prophets or saints, yet they might also be angels portrayed without wings. Flanking these figures are three inscriptions, two of which have been identified (an alphabet and an angelic salutation) while the third is formed by a series of apparently unrelated letters and is still to be deciphered.6 Completing the figurative decoration are two small engraved medallions in the inner part: a Dextera Domini on the cover and a beautiful angelical figure on the base (Figure 14.3).
From a typological viewpoint, this kind of short globe-shaped ciborium is quite characteristic of European metalwork from between the late 12th century and the early 13th century.7 Two other similar examples of Limousin ciboria still survive: the famous Maître Alpais ciborium mentioned previously, dated c. 1200,8 and a fragmentary replica of this in the British Museum collection, surely made slightly after (c. 1210–25).9
The Maître Alpais ciborium is probably the most outstanding Limoges work, at least in terms of historiography (Figure 14.4). It has a quite similar shape to the one displayed in Barcelona and still completely preserves the upper knop and conical foot. The main body is a little larger (168 mm in diameter) and is also drawn together with a pattern of rhomboidal cells which serve as a backdrop for the decorative figures and vegetation. Here also, as with most Limousin works from this period, the background is completely enamelled in blue and the decoration is always in reserve. The larger dimensions of this vessel enable more cells to be included in the pattern thus allowing the multiplication of figures portrayed, which also happen to be apostles (to which four more saints are added),10 together with a series of thirty-two angels, this time with wings. The British Museum’s ciborium is a simplified imitation of the Maître Alpais ciborium, yet lacks the quality and decorative ambition of the latter and features an iconography composed solely of angelical figures.
In contrast, the Barcelona ciborium is no mere humble imitation of the aspect and decorative formulas of the Alpais ciborium, despite the fact that whoever made it had clearly considered it when designing his piece. This obviously compels us to consider that it was made at a later date. Differences between the pieces are the presence of an abundance of glass cabochons, and an absence of inscriptions on the Alpais ciborium.11 However we do find on the Alpais ciborium the same two medallions engraved on the inner face with the images of the Dextera Domini and the angel (next to which is the exceptional signature: ‘Magister G. Alpais me fecit lemovicarum’). However, it seems clear that the maker of the Barcelona ciborium also drew on other sources and knowledge to create the work. It is along this path which I believe we should continue to investigate its ties to Catalonia. Thus, it is worth bearing in mind the two main differences between the ciboria: 1) the use of enamelled decoration versus enamelled background; and 2) the style of the drawing, particularly on human figures.
As regards the first issue, we have already seen that in Limousin production from around 1200 enamelled backgrounds were widely used. The figures were generally reserved and often combined (such as on the Alpais ciborium) with appliqué features, particularly heads. However, some Limousin workshops rejected this evolution and kept on with the traditional procedures of enamelled figures on a reserved metal background, typical of early champlevé enamels. The nucleus of this second production style probably lies in the workshop or workshops which were working for Grandmont Abbey in the late 12th century. This monastery was the motherhouse of a reforming order founded in the middle of the same century which spread far and wide across most of Europe (particularly in western France) under the protection of the Plantagenet family.12 The main altar in the abbey–church of Grandmont was splendidly decorated with enamelled work. The main feature of this installation was an altarpiece which was probably made around 1190, and of which still remain two outstanding panels, now part of the collection in the Musée de Cluny in Paris.13
These panels display large-sized figures, which are well proportioned with slender outlines and golden lines among the enamelled parts simulating the cloisonné technique, serene open-eyed faces outlined in gold and unusual hands with elongated index fingers. A large upper arcade forms the backdrop of the scenes, in which the chromatic energy of the golden background clearly stands out, absorbing the space yet heightening the visual and material force of the whole work. Some of these stylistic features (though lacking the energy and the narrative quality of the panels) are repeated in a series of Limousin works which, in one way or another, derive from the Grandmontine altarpiece. Some of these were perhaps made by the same workshop, while the others were made by different workshops that were influenced by them. The obvious stylistic proximity of these works has, to a certain extent, enabled us to compile a maniera or Grandmontine style in the Limousin production of the time, in which particularly a series of altar crosses are to be found, dating from between 1185 and 1200. Significantly, when their origin is known, most of these works started out in the Grandmont priories.14
The style of the Barcelona ciborium may not be directly linked to this whole group, but it does share an important number of features, and at times the similar drawing of some of its figures is quite undeniable. For instance, it could be compared to the plaques found on a cross from Mathon Priory, part of the Metropolitan Museum’s collection in New York, particularly as regards the angel of the Tetramorph (Figure 14.5). Even the vegetal decoration on the ciborium is linked to this Grandmontine style. For example, the tri-lobed fleurons point directly to those on other works, such as the cross plaque found in 1869 in Cherves (Louvre), which could have come from a Grandmontine priory at Gandory.15 In fact, all the pieces from the aux grands yeux group, among which Gauthier included the Barcelona ciborium, are in some way also linked to the Grandmontine works, despite the fact that the workmanship tends to be much less refined. Only the eyes that characterise this series, which are large, bulging and marked with dots of white enamel, are a specific feature of this group (the Grandmontine series of eyes tend to be reserved).16
There is still another series of Limousin enamels, which date from a little later, which continued to use the formula of the golden backgrounds and enamelled figures for decades later (until sometime between 1230s and 1240s). This later production bears some vague allusions to the expressive formulas and resources used by the workshops linked to Grandmont yet these usually feature a much more sketchy and expeditious style with images containing coarser and more expressionist features. They also bear some unique and exclusive ornamental features, such as the star-like or pseudo-floral motifs engraved throughout the golden reserved surface.17 The most representative of the works from this series are two twin quatrefoil reliquaries devoted to St. Francis of Assisi, preserved at the Louvre and the Musée de Cluny. Curiously, the reliquary held at the Louvre is said to come from the island of Majorca (yet this lacks any documentary evidence), where it had been taken (from Catalonia?) following the conquest of King James I in 1229, perhaps coinciding with the dedication of the first Franciscan chapel on the island.18
The Barcelona ciborium bears hardly any features of this later series of reserved background Limousin works, except the use of the guilloché in the gilded surfaces (with a very elementary linear pattern) or the sharp definition of the inner lines of the figures. Moreover, were one to argue a similar later date for the ciborium (no earlier than 1225), it would be hard to understand the structural and iconographical resemblances with the Maître Alpais ciborium, nor the use of some stylistic features which clearly point to production prior to 1200, such as the fine use of chromatic combinations or the definition of human anatomy by means of firm vertical lines. On the other hand, the elegant, strictly harmonious vegetal motifs on the Catalan piece have little in common with the rigidity and schematisation of the vegetal motifs in later productions.
Having outlined and argued my case, I believe that a stylistic analysis of the Barcelona ciborium enables us to date it within a timeframe of between 1200 and 1215. That is to say, later than the Alpais ciborium (c. 1200), and also later than (but not much) the closest works on the Grandmont altarpiece, yet still not linked with the later series of works headed by the Franciscan reliquaries. The connection with Grandmont Abbey can still be upheld. By using information regarding this Abbey and the Order of Grandmont, I will attempt to explain the possible gestation of this work and the Catalan background of its patronage.
Despite the fact that the Order of Grandmont never established any priories in Catalonia, there were several important centres belonging to the order in the far reaching domains controlled by the Catalan kings in the Languedoc and Provence.19 Moreover, the Grandmontine bonis hominis were directly in touch with the monarchs, who explicitly protected and provided them with several remarkable donations, and quite likely visited some of their houses. Indeed, the good relations between the kings and the order reflected to a large extent the attitude of Catalan allies, the powerful Plantagenets, who had protected the Order of Grandmont practically from the time of its foundation.
Documentary sources reveal the intensive nature of these contacts, which were established in the late 12th century. A significant document is the testament made by King Alfonso the Chaste, granted in 1194. The king bequeathed to the Order of Grandmont the sum of 500 solidi annually from rents paid in the town of Millau, and also 200 morabatins (maravedís) for the purchase of incense in exchange for prayers for his soul, as if the king were one of the brothers in the order.20 This legacy was rather generous, and it was not the first donation to Grandmont made by the king. In fact, one year earlier Alfonso had granted the river Vézoubies with several mills to the Grandmontine priory of Comberoumal, located in the county of Rodez, over which Alfonso held feudal jurisdiction. The donation was confirmed later by his successor, Peter the Catholic, in 1194 and again in 1196.21
King Peter strengthened the relations with the southern Grandmont priories, partly due to his father’s inheritance and partly to his marriage to Marie of Montpellier. His father-in-law, William VIII of Montpellier, was already the patron of the priory of Notre Dame of Montaubérau, situated a few kilometres from the city, and Peter the Catholic also put the monastery under his personal protection as mentioned in a document dating from 1206 in which he also placed under his direct patronage the aforementioned Comberoumal priory.22 Needless to say, the monarch must have visited both monasteries himself: Montaubérau on his visits to Montpellier and Comberoumal, for example, on a trip to Millau which was documented in 1204.23
Naturally, the contacts between the Catalan monarchs and the Order of Grandmont lack any documented artistic implications and there is no evidence of Catalan kings or nobles ever visiting the Order motherhouse, nor any mention of interest in Limoges works. However, it must be recalled that the Grandmontines decorated most of their priories with ornamenta from Limoges workshops, and they must surely have done the same in their southernmost priories, situated in land then controlled by Catalans, who surely knew and appreciated the Limousin enamelled work.
It is worth noting that Catalan intellectual circles were obviously aware of the Order of Grandmont, due to its proposal to renew western monasticism by way of austerity and asceticism (as practised by the Cistercians or Premonstratensians, who actually established centres in Catalonia). Even the order’s internal problems, marked by a fierce struggle between monks and lay brothers,24 were well known in Catalonia, as evidenced by the existence in the abbey of Ripoll of two copies of the famous poem In Gedeonis area, which describes the highpoint of the Grandmontine conflict.25
Having reached this point, I would like to outline my hypothesis: I believe it is reasonable to consider that the Barcelona ciborium is not only an object that was imported into Catalonia in the Middle Ages, but it is also an object that was specifically made under the patronage of a Catalan who was quite likely related to royal circles. I dare not assert that it was commissioned by a monarch (although the affordable prices of Limoges enamels would fit in quite well with the economic penuries habitually suffered by Catalan kings), yet this possibility should not be ruled out. To support my theory I have based my hypothesis on the stylistic relationship of the ciborium compared to the Limoges production linked to Grandmont, and on the close relationships between the Order of Grandmont and the kings of the House of Barcelona who emphatically supported this order.
Indeed, another Catalan work also points to the figurative culture of Grandmontine-style Limoges enamels. This is not a metalwork object but an illuminated manuscript: the renowned Liber Feudorum Ceritaniae, copied and illustrated in the early 13th century.26 The miniatures in this royal cartulary are hard to understand without the enamelled works being used as visual models, an idea that was proposed some years back and must now be considered again.27 Comparing these miniature works with the panels from the Grandmont altarpiece provides us with some interesting resemblances, such as the architectural setting, the flat golden background or its chromatic austerity subordinated to the brightness of the gold. Some features of the miniature paintings also even point to the style of the human figures in the Barcelona ciborium, such as the use of white dots (mainly in the eyes), the portrayal of large, oval faces or the expressive style of the hands, with long fingers outlined in black. The miniaturist of the Liber Feudorum Ceritaniae must therefore have known the Limoges works of the time, and links with the enamelled figures in the Barcelona ciborium are certainly suggestive, bearing in mind that the ciborium was discovered in la Cerdanya (and was perhaps even made for this area), i.e. one of the counties to which the cartulary is devoted.
Despite the indirect nature of the information, it is reasonable to consider the possibility that the Barcelona ciborium was directly commissioned by a member of the court of the Catalan kings (most likely in the entourage of Peter the Catholic), who could equally have been one of the lay councillors of the royal family or a high ranking ecclesiastical dignitary. Among the councillors of King Peter there were two eminent members of the clergy who are of special interest in this respect: Pere de Tavertet and his nephew Guillem, the bishop of Vic. The former had served in the accounts office with Ramon de Caldes (the head of the royal finances, and the compiler of Liber Feudorum Maior)28 and later managed the Crown’s finances, while Bishop Guillem de Tavertet was another important member of the King’s circle, and a regular companion of Peter the Catholic in his travels. He was also ambassador to Rome several times, being on very good terms with Pope Innocent III, and he attended the fourth Lateran Council in 1215.29
In sum, the royal ties to the Grandmont priories might have enabled knowledge and love of Limoges champlevé enamelled works (favoured by their affordability), and would have incentivised the later acquisition of objects. In fact, this kind of process is well known in other lands. For example, a visit to Grandmont by the legate Lothario dei Conti di Segni, future Pope Innocent III, led to his interest in Limoges work and for Rome to commission several of Limousin works, particularly the decoration of the Vatican’s confessio and also the reliquary casket in the shape of a basilica donated to the church of Saints Sergius and Bacchus.30 Similarly, Cardinal Guala Bicchieri, founder of the abbey of Sant’Andrea in Vercelli (Piedmont), provided it with a large number of Limousin works following his visit to Limoges in 1209 also as a pontifical legate.31 Shortly after, in 1242, Stephen of Lexington, then Abbot of Savigny, ordered five enamelled reliquaries following a visit to Grandmont Abbey and seeing its impressive decorated altar.32
As a result of a similar incentive, the Barcelona ciborium was commissioned from a Limousin enameller who followed the traditional procedures (enamelled figures on a reserved background) which were uncommon in the oeuvre de Limoges around 1200 but still used in the ‘Grandmontine style’ production. However, in order to conceive both the structure and the iconographic programme of the ciborium, the artist used the Maître Alpais ciborium as a prototype (and so must have been familiar with it). The internal engraved medallions are proof of this, as is the curious presence of one lone apostle without a book among the twelve figures portrayed, which also copies the presence of a lone saint without a book on the work in the Louvre. Access to the Alpais ciborium can be easily explained. It seems to have been part of the treasure at Montmajor Abbey, located in Provence (in the town of Arles, quite close to Montpellier),33 and was thus within reach of the Catalan royal family’s circle, who held fiefdoms (directly or indirectly) over the whole of Provence from the early 12th century.34
Therefore, combining the stylistic qualities of the ‘Grandmontine style’ and the format and decorative programme of an outstanding, Limousin work such as the Alpais ciborium, whoever made the Barcelona ciborium created a peculiar object, a veritable unicum among the Limoges work from that period. This work bears some quite unusual features, such as the tantalising presence and still unknown meaning of the engraved inscriptions, which we believe were either ordered by the unknown patron or made by the person who conceived its symbolic programme.
Bearing in mind the political background, it seems reasonable to argue that the ciborium was commissioned earlier than 1213. In that year, the Catalan and Occitan allies were defeated by northern French crusaders in the battle of Muret, after which Catalan influence north of the Pyrenees quickly fell into decline. Of course there were imported Limousin works in Catalonia by then, yet the outstanding quality and exclusive design of the ciborium at the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya make this a particularly singular case. Moreover, this is perhaps one of the only commissions of Limousin enamelled pieces ever made for Catalan patrons, who generally acquired works such as these through other strictly commercial means or contacts and exchanges among religious institutions.
