Works of art in enamel are among the most attractive, colourful and revealing objects of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Enamel was employed to embellish a broad array of objects, including reliquary caskets, crosses, book-covers, croziers, censers and pyxes for the church and a wide range of tableware for the secular market. The Wyvern Collection comprises many pieces of prime importance from the twelfth to the sixteenth centuries.
Among the highlights in this volume are two extremely rare Romanesque enamels of c. 1160-70 from the Meuse Valley: the celebrated reliquary triptych probably originally belonging to the Bishop of Liège, and a beautiful phylactery (a reliquary designed to be suspended) with scenes from the story of the True Cross, said to have come from the famous abbey of Lobbes. Limoges enamels of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries are particularly well represented, the 65 pieces making up what is undoubtedly now the finest and most comprehensive collection in private hands. The later painted enamels of Limoges, from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, include remarkable examples of the work of the principal enamellers, most notably Pierre Reymond, and the spectacular horn of St Hubert, dated 1538 and signed by Léonard Limosin, which once belonged to Horace Walpole at Strawberry Hill.
The catalogue additionally includes other outstanding works of art such as an important Anglo-Carolingian chrismatory of the ninth century, a small group of enigmatic twelfth-century drinking-cups and sumptuous examples of German late medieval goldsmiths' work.
Stained and painted glass roundels, Italian Renaissance ceramics, luxurious textiles and tapestries, and German and Italian armour are also catalogued.
An appendix presents several important pieces, recently acquired, which supplement those published in the first two volumes.
With more than 250 objects, all specially photographed, this is more than a handbook to an especially rich part of one of the greatest private collections.
It is a detailed and authoritative guide to medieval and Renaissance enamels and other works of art, a stimulus to further research and a feast for the eyes.
With 400 illustrations in colour
By:
Paul Williamson
Imprint: Thames & Hudson Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions:
Height: 276mm,
Width: 219mm,
Weight: 2.860kg
ISBN: 9780500024560
ISBN 10: 0500024561
Series: The Wyvern Collection
Pages: 480
Publication Date: 30 November 2021
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Foreword Preface Explanatory Notes on the Catalogue Entries The Catalogue I Early Medieval Works of Art Catalogue numbers 1–12 II Romanesque Enamels, excluding Limoges Catalogue numbers 13–21 III Limoges Enamels Catalogue numbers 22–87 IV Gothic and Renaissance Works of Art Catalogue numbers 88–143 V Stained and Painted Glass Catalogue numbers 144–152 VI Limoges Painted Enamels Catalogue numbers 153–182 VII Ceramics Catalogue numbers 183–189 VIII Textiles and Tapestry Catalogue numbers 190–194 IX Later Works of Art Catalogue numbers 195–204 X Appendix to Wyvern Collection, Volumes 1 and 2 Catalogue numbers 205–210 Concordance Bibliography
Paul Williamson is Keeper Emeritus and Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and an Honorary Research Fellow at the Courtauld Institute of Art, University of London. His many books include Gothic Sculpture 1140-1300, Medieval and Renaissance Stained Glass in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Medieval Ivory Carvings: Early Christian to Romanesque, and two previous catalogues of the Wyvern Collection (Thames & Hudson, 2018 and 2019). He is a past Vice-President of the Society of Antiquaries of London, a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and was appointed OBE in 2016 for services to medieval art.
Reviews for The Wyvern Collection: Medieval and Renaissance Enamels and Other Works of Art
'Masterly … photographs by Matt Pia provide exceptional coverage of the objects in this outstanding British private collection of medieval art … [Paul] Williamson places these works in the context of all relevant comparative objects in public and private collections on the basis of the most up-to-date current research' - Burlington Magazine
