The Lux Life

Limoge. That would just oooooooozes luxury. Artisans in the French city of Limoge have been producing enamel pieces for hundreds of years. From the 12th century until the late 14th century the area was particularly know for producing religious items such as reliquaries. The work fell out of popularity for a while but in the late 15th century, with the advent of the French Renaissance, there was a resurgence in the popularity. The types of items being produced had shifted to beautiful plates, plaques and ewers. These pieces would be decorated with narrative scenes and elaborate borders.

Lehman Ewer, Suzanne de Court

Before we go much further it would probably be appropriate to discuss what enameling is. At the most basic, enameling is glass fused to metal at high heat. "Vitreous enamels are finely ground glass, like fine sand (or even more finely pulverized and mixed with an oil or adhesive). They may be opaque or transparent; their colors come from the use of various oxides. Enamels are similar to ceramic glazes, except that, whereas glazes are in a raw state when applied to ceramics and go through chemical changes in the firing process that smelt them into glass, enamels have already been smelted. The firing process simply melts them and fuses them to the metal." Pat Musick, The Enameling Process.

Those responsible for producing enameled items seem to be part artist, part chemist and part engineer. It is important to understand that these artists had to be trained in painting and metalsmithing. The de Court family were masters at the enameling process, and none better than
Suzanne de Court.

Annunciation Plaque, Suzanne de Court

Little is known of the life of the personnel life of Suzanne de Court. Some historians say that she was the daughter of Jean de Court, a well known enameller of Renaissance France. Others say she was Jean's sister. Still others suggest that she actually married into the de Court family. We may never know.

What is known is that Suzanne lived and worked in Limoge, France and it appears that she was the first woman to become known for her enameling ability. In a time when few artists signed their work we know that Suzanne regularly added either her initials, or full name to her finished pieces. Maybe Suzanne wanted to make sure the world knew that she was a woman and that she was the artist. Or, she may have signed them because she was the owner of the workshop that produced the items.

The workshops that produced enamel work were usually family owned. Guilds were also powerful in France during this time so, it stands to reason that Suzanne would have been a guild member, and may have been a master in the guild house.


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Selected Sources
d’Amecourt, Isabelle. What I’ve learned: Isabelle d’Amécourt on European Sculpture and Works of Art. https://www.christies.com/features/What-Ive-learned-Isabelle-dAmecourt-8912-1.aspx

Crichton-Miller, Emma. Collectors remain enamoured with Limoges enamels. https://www.apollo-magazine.com/collectors-remain-enamoured-with-limoges-enamels/

Drayman-Weisser, Terry. The Early Painted Enamels of Limoges in the Walters Art Museum: Historical Context and Observations on Past Treatments https://cool.conservation-us.org/jaic/articles/jaic42-02-007_2.html