Sunday's work ✨
✍️ The treasury of the abbey of Saint-Denis contained a collection created by Abbot Suger in the 12th century consisting of several hardstone monted vases. Among them was the rock crystal vase known as the "Eleanor" vase.The objects in the treasury are known thanks to the engravings of Félibien, the writings of Blaise de Montesquiou-Fezensac, and the inventory carried out in 1634. Only four of the decorated vases commissioned by Suger survive, one in the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., the other three in the Louvre. The "Eleanor" vase was given to Suger by Louis VII. Louis had been given the vase as a gift by his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, who had inherited it from her grandfather, William IX of Aquitaine.
👀 The pear-shaped body of the vase is topped by a neck two centimeters long, hidden by the setting. The vase was in perfect condition until the 18th century, but has since been cracked and chipped. The whole body is carved with a honeycomb pattern formed by twenty-two or twenty-three rows of small hollowed-out hexagons. A similar pattern is found on a blood jasper vase in the collection of Louis XIV's grandson (now in the Prado, Madrid). The honeycombed pattern is also found in Roman gold and silverware and glassware, from where it spread to influence Sasanian, Islamic, and even Byzantine glassware. The "Eleanor" vase could well date from the Sasanian (6th or 7th century) or post-Sasanian (9th or 10th century) era.
🔎 The mount is made of gilded silver. The base is divided into four separate bands, consisting of, from the bottom up: an inscription in niello; filigree set with precious stones; decoration with fleurons and filigree work; and finally, a smooth, plain surface. The neck is likewise formed of different strips, bulbous or cylindrical, smooth or decorated with filigree and precious stones. The latter are set simply in bezels with milled edges. On the base, the precious stones alternate with pearls. The filigree work around the stones is unusually large with prominent beading, forming compact areas within a smooth, shiny background.
📍 Richelieu wing, room 502.
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📷 © RMN - Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) / Daniel Arnaudet
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📷 © RMN - Grand Palais (Musée du Louvre) / Daniel Arnaudet
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