Masterpieces of the European Enamel XII - Beginning of XX Century
18 May 2009 - 27 September 2009
Novgorod State Museum, Novgorod
122 exhibits

On May 18, 2009, on the International Museum Day, Novgorod State Museum opened the exhibition Masterpieces of the European Enamel XII - Beginning of XX centuries from the reserves of the State Hermitage Museum. The collection includes around one hundred works, demonstrating the manifold of decor techniques, as well as the versatility of artistic approaches and tasks.

Enamel (fused glass) is applied onto a metal surface, mostly copper, sometimes silver or gold, and is fired several times at the temperatures from 600 to 900° C. The oxides of different metals in the alloy produce different colours. The polychromatic, never fading enamel colour range became the reason for the persistent interest towards that decorative art. During several centuries the ways and methods of enamel making changed and developed from simple single-colour patterns applied onto a surface, to polychromatic, decorative panels, painted compositions comprising several figures, landscape paintings and portraits. Different enamelling techniques gave names to different enamel types: champleve and cloisonne enamel, painting.

The earliest works presented at the exhibition belong to XII century – small columns coated with enamel and gold-plating, as well as ornamental plates dating back to the beginning of XIII century. Among the greatest works of the famous Limoges artists of the Middle Age presented at the exhibition there are two pyxes, a communion cross, a reliquary box and a plate from a book cover with the scenes Christ in Glory. A fascinating group of works created in Limoges in XVI century during the golden age of the painted enamel consists of the following items - the dish Apollo with Muses and the plate Elisha the Prophet by Pierre Raymond, and the plate Allegory of May by Pierre Courteyse. These and other Renaissance artists used graphical sources in their work. The development of the enamel art in the art of jewelry is associated with the names of the two prominent European artists, Jean I Tuten and Jean Lois Petiteau, who enriched the colour range and developed the firing method.

In XVII century the leading positions in the enamel art were occupied by the German enamellers. The exemplar of the new artistic solution is the tea-set by the artist Tobias Bauer from Augsburg. His painted compositions are placed on the white enamel background featuring a floral pattern with gilding. At the end of XVII century and especially in XVIII century there came many small items: miniature caskets, drawing sets, toiletry cases, needle cases. When snuffing tobacco came into fashion, it became popular to make special cases - snuffboxes intended for storing the tobacco. The exhibition collection includes English snuffboxes in the shape of animals and birds, St Petersburg snuffboxes with portraits of famous people, French snuffboxes with polychromatic flower painting, Swiss snuffboxes with different narrative compositions.

The artists of XIX century were mainly oriented towards achievements of the enamellers of the past, never reaching the same level. Enamel was mostly used for decorating various boxes, frames, fantasy items etc. At the turn of XIX-XX centuries the art of enamel making entered yet another age of progress, which, however, did not last long: watches, medallions, writing sets were decorated with enamel in line with new artistic tasks.

The Hermitage collection comprises a variety of works by European enameller, including recognized masterpieces, and demonstrates the art of decorative enamel in its development.

The curator of the exhibition is Olga Kostyuk, Deputy Head of the Department of Western European Applied Art of the State Hermitage Museum.

Reliquary-Casket with the Christ, the Saints and Angels
Last quarter of the 13th century
Larger view

Plaques from a Cross with Christ in Glory
14th century
Larger view

Bowl: Feast of Aeneas and Dido
1553
Larger view

Pieces from the Tea service
Between 1695 and 1700
Larger view