Pseudo-Monvaerni Master
Active around 1479–1500
Copper painted with enamels, set within a gilded metal frame with enamelled flowers
18.4 x 8.9 cm
This richly decorated object, called a pax, meaning peace in Latin, was kissed by worshippers at the end of church Mass – a practice called the kiss of peace.
The Christian subject matter and small size of enamel plaques also made them suitable for devotion in the home, where they often hung at the end of a bed.
The artist of this work has not been identified but about 50 enamels are attributed to him. He worked in the French city of Limoges, the centre of enamel production.