Non solo smalti. Miniature sotto cristallo nell’oreficeria parigina del XIV secolo

During the reign of the early Valois, in a period of exceptional flourishing of the sumptuary arts, the sovereigns commissioned many metalwork objects, some of them decorated with miniatures under rock crystal. The study of the miniatures allows not only to circumscribe the chronology of these works, but also to affirm that they were made by artists who are known to have produced illuminated manuscripts for the court. The choice of decorating reliquaries and precious objects with miniatures under rock crystal was intentional and proves a clear aesthetic appreciation for this specific technique. Its knoweldge at the Valois court might have been determined by the familiarity with comparable works from Venice and Siena