Lot 14: AN ENAMEL PORTRAIT PLAQUE OF LEDA

AN ENAMEL PORTRAIT PLAQUE OF LEDA CIRCLE OF PIERRE REYMOND (1513-1584), LIMOGES, MID-16TH CENTURY Background inscribed 'LEDA'; in a later circular giltwood frame 10 ½ in. (27 cm.) high; 12 in. (30.7 cm.) high, overall

(27 cm.) high

16TH CENTURY

S. Baratte, Les Émaux Peints de Limoges, Paris, 2000.

Limoges enamellers of the 16th century produced portraits, religious subjects, domestic utensils and works that could be incorporated into architectural schemes. Circular roundels with profile portraits of historical or mythological sitters, often with their names inscribed in gilt lettering on the background, were among the most popular of these works of art. Numerous medallions are known, many of them based on engravings, including examples in the Louvre depicting Pompey, Julius Caesar and Ceres (see Baratte, op. cit., nos. OA4017, MR 2546 and MR 2547, pp. 95 and 132). Like the present lot, those medallions show the sitter bust length, painted in grisaille and identified with gilt lettering on a black background. However, despite the general similarities among these pieces, the present enamel would appear to be from a different hand. It has traditionally been attributed to the celebrated enameller Leonard Limosin but it is perhaps closer to the work of Limosin’s direct contemporary Pierre Reymond. The unusually large scale of the present roundel makes it difficult to make direct comparisons, but there are many similarities to portrait profiles on domestic items produced by Reymond in the mid-16th century. The method of indicating the eye – with a strong diagonal black line for the upper lid, a vertical black pupil and a relatively undefined lower lid can also be seen on profiles to the reverse of a plate and to the well of a salt-cellar, both of which are signed with the initials ‘PR’ (ibid, nos. R 264 and R 265, pp. 211 and 262). The profile of the latter, which has a similarly elaborate coiffure and wears a diadem, also seems to have the distinctive bump above the nose to suggest the brow.