Limoges rediscovered: medieval enamels and revived provenances at Aguttes

Haute Époque: When provenance reveals the value of a medieval work

There are works whose value lies not only in their beauty, but in the depth of their history. In the realm of the Haute Époque, where objects have often traversed the centuries at the cost of transformations, dispersal, and oblivion, provenance research sometimes becomes a true rediscovery.

A rare limousin bishop’s crosier depicting Saint Michael to be offered for sale on july 8, 2026

The Haute Époque auction on July 8, 2026, features a particularly striking example: a rare bishop’s crosier head depicting Saint Michael, crafted in gilded copper and champlevé enamel in Limoges in the early 13th century.

The object belongs to the extensive body of Limousin croziers depicting Saint Michael slaying the dragon. This subject, particularly popular in the Middle Ages, imbued the episcopal insignia with clear symbolic power: that of spiritual combat, victory over the devil, and the protection afforded by the archangel.

From the Hermitage to the french collections: an exceptional provenance reconstructed

Cataloged by Marquet de Vasselot in his seminal work on 13th-century Limousin croziers, this crozier was known to specialists, but a crucial part of its history remained unknown. Research conducted by our expert Grégoire de Thoury in preparation for this sale has made it possible to reconstruct a provenance of exceptional interest: the former collection of Countess Elizaveta Vladimirovna Shuvalova at the Shuvalov Palace in Saint Petersburg, which entered the Hermitage Museum’s collections in 1924 before leaving them in 1930 during the Soviet sales. It then passed through the Stora Gallery in Paris, followed by the prestigious Julien Chappée collection, before coming into the possession of Claude Vaudecrane, a well-known collector.

This journey, from Saint Petersburg to Le Mans, from the Hermitage to the great French collections of medieval art, gives the object a significance that transcends its mere aesthetic quality. It places the crozier firmly within the history of European collecting as well as that of Limousin art.

A Limousin-style stock and pyxide brought together: two works from the Chappée collection reunite

Even more moving is that this authentic Chappée provenance allows the crozier to engage in a dialogue with another object in the sale: a cabochon pyx, also made of gilded copper and Limoges champlevé enamel, which was likewise discovered by Grégoire de Thoury in an old photograph from the Julien Chappée collection preserved in the Louvre Museum’s Objets d’art archives.

Separated for several decades and now consigned by different families, these two works are thus reunited for the duration of this auction. The catalog, almost unwittingly, reconstructs a scattered fragment of the former collection.

A 12th-century limousin gospel book binding plate: from the gospel to the Tabernacle

A third object adds to this story of rediscovery: an exceptional Gospel book binding plate, made of gilded copper and champlevé enamel, depicting the Crucifixion. Made in Limoges in the late 12th or early 13th century, it was later transformed into a tabernacle door.

This transformation, which might have appeared to be merely an alteration, has instead become one of the most significant elements of its history. Separated from its liturgical book, the image continued to serve a sacred function: no longer to protect the Gospel, but to secure the very place of the Real Presence within the tabernacle. It is perhaps precisely this repurposing that allowed the object to survive.

How a keyhole helped identify a work that had been forgotten for a century

The keyhole, pierced through the Virgin’s robe, even played a decisive role in its identification. Far from being a mere accident of use, this distinctive feature made it possible to recognize the plaque in ancient records and to reconstruct a provenance that had been forgotten for nearly a century. The very deterioration of the object thus became the key to its rediscovered history.

Through its color, format, iconography, and history, this plaque stands out as one of the most eloquent testaments to the great tradition of Limousin Gospel book covers. Its lapis blue background, studded with polychrome rosettes, lends the Crucifixion a rare visual intensity, in which the liturgical object becomes almost a reliquary of light.

Medieval art of limousin: provenance as the key to understanding artifacts from the high middle ages

These works remind us that the High Middle Ages is not merely a matter of style, materials, or dating. It is also a discipline of traces. Every piece of provenance information uncovered, every old photograph, and every formal detail identified helps restore a part of the objects’ history. In this auction, the crozier, the pyx, and the bookplate all bear witness to the same phenomenon: the beauty of a medieval object is fully revealed when its history becomes legible once again.

Upcoming auction in preparation
Classical Arts

Thursday, May 21, 2026, 2:30 PM