'Christ alive'. Chased copper figure, with traces... Lot n° 1

'Christ alive'. Chased copper figure, with traces of gilding and champlevé enamel. Limoges. France. Romanesque. 13th century. Due to its dimensions, 18 x 14,5 cm, it must have been the central figure affixed to a large processional cross. He preserves one of his four original nails in his left hand. Christ alive, crucified, covered with a large loin cloth in white and ultramarine blue, with a crowned, slightly tilted head and blue glass eyes. On one side, this is still a Romanesque depiction of Christ, who appears glorious and triumphant before death, with open eyes. On the other side, the knees are bent and the naturalness of the torso augers the beginning of what would be the gothic model of the suffering Christ. There is a comparable example kept in the Musée d'Art et d’Archéologie in Senlis, France, which is still affixed to its original cross. (https://musees.ville-senlis.fr/Collections/Explorer-les-collections/Rechercher-une-oeuvre/Musee-d-Art-et-d-Archeologie/Christ-en-croix) As the museum mentions in the index card, both Christs show the characteristics of Limoges craftsmanship 'opus emovicense', according to the expression used in the Middle Ages to define the objects made in enamelled champlevé copper in the Limoges workshops: the use of champlevé enamel in ultramarine blue on the loincloth, the fine chasing on the torso, and the presence of the suppedaneum, the shelf on which Christ’s feet rest. In the museum’s example, the enamel in ultramarine blue is preserved.