PLAQUE

A copper-alloy Mosan enamel medieval plaque depicting St. Luke (c.AD 1150-1220).

The object is a rectangular shaped plaque with an image of St. Luke detailed in enamel using the champlevé technique of carving cells to be filled with coloured enamel. The enamel has a distinctive colour of blues and greens with some details coloured in white. The majority of the enamel is still intact with the primary features of the image still remaining coloured.

The plaque depicts the full-length figure of St. Luke who is shown seated on the right-hand side and facing towards the left. His head is surrounded by a halo with a yellow rim, but his hair, beard and facial features have lost the enamel. A small amount of gilding is visible on the saint's face. He is wearing a full-length blue and white robe with a green and lighter green coloured cloak over the top. The robe stops just below the ankles, exposing his bare feet. Details of the robe's drapery are highlighted in the white and lighter green enamel.

He is seated on a blue and white stool that is divided into three blocks, the lowest block is no longer coloured. He is leaning towards a raised, sloped writing desk or lectern, this is formed of two blocks which have an architectural form, displaying arches on the side. On the desk is a book or manuscript which the saint is writing on. His left hand proper is resting at the base of the desk. In his right hand he holds a quill, poised in the motion of writing. The hands are no longer coloured.

Above the desk in the top left corner of the plaque is a creature that is likely in the form of a bull, the symbol of St. Luke. The bull is rendered in a bright blue and is surrounded by a dark purple halo. It has a rounded nose and has a small horn protruding from each side of its head. The bull is in profile to the right and is looking directly at St. Luke. The lettering 'LVCAS' is visible although the enamel is missing. The letters are divided with LV to the left side of St.Luke's halo with CA to the right side and S directly below A.

The colour of the scene's background is uncertain as it is largely missing. The surface is roughly pitted and the green of the copper alloy is present. The scene is surrounded by a blue border with a white outer edge.

The edge of the plaque is decorated with incised vertical lines along all sides which creates a beading effect. There are very small remains of gilding present in the beading. The reverse of the plaque is flat and undecorated.The object was x-rayed on the 04/11/2020 which revealed two holes, each at the mid-point of the long sides of the object. These are likely to be attachment perforations.The object is in a delicate condition and is in need of conservation.

A similar example is currently in the collection of the V&A Museum, London, which is in the form of a lozenge shaped plaque that depicts an almost identical scene of St. Luke and is dated to c.AD 1160-1180 (museum no. M.208-1938) (see their online collections catalogue: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O120850/st-luke-plaque-st-luke-unknown/). It is noted that the V&A example is likely to have been one of a group of four plaques, each showing one of the four evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It is thus not a stretch to assume that this recorded example was also likely to have been one of a group of four. The exact function of the plaque is unknown. Morgan (1973: 269) notes that images of the four evangelists were ubiquitous, and appeared on a wide range of objects, including book-covers, crosses, reliquaries and portable altars.

This is a highly significant find, especially for the area of Greater Manchester. Enamelled plaques are rare finds and no directly comparable object has been recorded on the PAS database at the time of writing (March 2020). The preservation of the plaque is remarkable with the vast majority of the enamel surviving, however, due care is needed to continue the longevity of the object.

Morgan, N. (1973), 'The Iconography of twelfth century Mosan enamels', in Rhein und Maas: Kunst und Kultur 800-1400, vol. II, Schnutgen-Museum, Cologne.