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拍品專文
Of the secular scenes that illustrated Renaissance Limoges work, Les Travaux des Mois or The Labours of the Months were among the most popular. Many examples of the subject survive on so-called calendar plates or plaques but a complete set of twelve is exceptionally rare.
In the medieval era, representation of the Labours were most commonly found in religious contexts, in manuscripts and the decoration of ecclesiastical buildings through media such as mosaics and stained glass. Their use in a secular context on Limoges enamels began in the 1540s, remaining popular throughout the third quarter of the 16th century. The activities depicted demonstrate the preoccupations of the landed aristocracy and the labourers who worked for them, highlighting how the daily lives of the latter were defined by the tasks of each changing season. Scenes of feasting (January) and music-making (May) punctuate the industrious months of sheep-shearing (June), harvesting (August) and sowing (September). The twelve plaques presented here not only show us the centrality of a good harvest to life in the 16th century, but also offer a glimpse into how their initial owners perceived and marked the passing of time. This cyclical season-dependent terrestrial work, of growing crops and rearing animals, was intertwined with the celestial order of the Heavens, as illustrated through the use of the signs of the Zodiac shown at the top of each scene to delineate each month.
The compositions of the scenes in Limoges depictions of the Labours are typically drawn from print sources which were widely disseminated in the period. The twelve scenes in the present lot are derived from engravings by Étienne Delaune who published two series of calendar prints, the first in circa 1559-65 and the second in 1568. Enamels signed with the initials ‘IC’ have previously been associated with the artist Jean de Court. However, as Sophie Baratte has pointed out in her discussion of enamels signed 'ICDV', 'IC' and 'IDC' (op. cit., p. 317), the range of styles and palettes within this group suggests that they represent not individual artists, but a series of - likely interconnected - workshops that were producing enamels over a number of decades in the later 16th and early 17th centuries.
In the medieval era, representation of the Labours were most commonly found in religious contexts, in manuscripts and the decoration of ecclesiastical buildings through media such as mosaics and stained glass. Their use in a secular context on Limoges enamels began in the 1540s, remaining popular throughout the third quarter of the 16th century. The activities depicted demonstrate the preoccupations of the landed aristocracy and the labourers who worked for them, highlighting how the daily lives of the latter were defined by the tasks of each changing season. Scenes of feasting (January) and music-making (May) punctuate the industrious months of sheep-shearing (June), harvesting (August) and sowing (September). The twelve plaques presented here not only show us the centrality of a good harvest to life in the 16th century, but also offer a glimpse into how their initial owners perceived and marked the passing of time. This cyclical season-dependent terrestrial work, of growing crops and rearing animals, was intertwined with the celestial order of the Heavens, as illustrated through the use of the signs of the Zodiac shown at the top of each scene to delineate each month.
The compositions of the scenes in Limoges depictions of the Labours are typically drawn from print sources which were widely disseminated in the period. The twelve scenes in the present lot are derived from engravings by Étienne Delaune who published two series of calendar prints, the first in circa 1559-65 and the second in 1568. Enamels signed with the initials ‘IC’ have previously been associated with the artist Jean de Court. However, as Sophie Baratte has pointed out in her discussion of enamels signed 'ICDV', 'IC' and 'IDC' (op. cit., p. 317), the range of styles and palettes within this group suggests that they represent not individual artists, but a series of - likely interconnected - workshops that were producing enamels over a number of decades in the later 16th and early 17th centuries.