208 - A rare altar cross with the ends of its branches adorned with floral motifs, made of gilded copper, engraved, chiseled, and champlevé, with blue, white, and turquoise enamels and glass cabochons of various colors.

A rare altar cross with the ends of its branches adorned with floral motifs, made of gilded copper, engraved, chiseled, and champlevé, with blue, white, and turquoise enamels and glass cabochons of various colors. Front: Christ with an uncovered head, wearing a long perizonium, and with his feet placed side by side in an outward rotation; a four-lobed titulus bearing the inscription IHS; a medallion depicting Saint Peter at the bottom; inscriptions in Gothic letters on the arms. Reverse: medallions depicting the Paschal Lamb and Saint John the Baptist; arms engraved with foliage; shaft with a central knot openworked with trefoils and adorned with six diamond-shaped cabochons; hexagonal base engraved with inscriptions in Gothic script; border openworked with trefoils. Christ, Limoges, second half of the 13th century Cross, Italy, late 13th century Base, Italy, 14th century Height: 43 cm - Width: 22.5 cm (minor damage, repaired) Provenance: Former collection of René Huyghe (1906 Arras–1997 Paris), curator of the Louvre and the Jacquemart-André Museum, art historian, professor at the Collège de France, and member of the Académie française; subsequently passed down through the family. Expert: Laurence FLIGNY, Paris Expert: FLIGNY Laurence