A beautiful Romanesque enamel mount depicting a saint - of the type produced in the Limoges area in Central France during the 12th and 13th centuries. Mounts like this were typically attached to a reliquary or religious book. The mount is sub-rectangular, convex at the front and hollowed at the rear. It depicts the head and upper body of a robed male figure - probably a saint. The head projects from the top of the rectangular body and is moulded in the round with a stylised mouth and nose. There are two small recesses for the eyes, filled with blue enamel. The top of the head is flattened and angled with a slight scar, possibly from the attachment of a missing halo. a stylised mouth and nose. The neck is long and oval in cross section. It joins to sloping shoulders at the top of the body. At the base of the left side of the body there is an angled recess where the right arm of the figure is depicted as bent upwards to the chest. The forearm and hand are detailed in a reserve of metal with linear recesses around (filled with degraded enamel). The hand appears to be raised in benediction. The left arm is a simple reserve of metal along the right side of the body with a recess alongside filled with blue enamel. Over the rest if the body are several linear recesses in-filled with blue enamel and depicting the folds of the robe. Towards the centre of the chest and set in a diagonal across it are two angular recesses filled with red enamel. It is possible that these represent an item of clothing or an object associated with the saint, but is not clear which. There are two large circular attachment holes through the body, set on the longitudinal axis. The rear is hollowed and undecorated. A beautiful and rare example found by metal detectorist in Frampton, Dorset in 2020 and recorded on the PAS database.

Ex. Clive Smith collection. Ex. Timothy Medhurst Coins and Antiquities.

Dimensions: 54.86 mm x 21.16 mm x 10.26 mm. Weight: 15.40 g

References: Recorded on the PAS database: Unique ID: DOR-1D196B