of square section with pyramidal top, the dark blue ground decorated with various colored rosettes, small circles, crosses and horizontal bands, the front panel with a figure of Christ in relief flanked by the Virgin and St. John with two angels above, the heads in relief, the gabled roof with Christ in Majesty in relief (later)  within a mandorla and with symbols of the evangelists, the back panel with a door (later) with St. Peter surrounded by half-length figures of angels within medallions surrounded by scrolling vines, another angel on the roof, each side with two saints beneath arches, angels within medallions on the gabled roof panels, the underside with various collection labels including one for the Paris 1900 Universelle Exposition, with later copper and rock crystal finial.

Edouard Warneck, Paris

Brimo de Laroussilhe (or Daguerre?) before 1917

George a✱nd Florence Blumenthal, New York until 1941

Exposition Universelle de ꦰParis 1900, according to a label on ꦇthe underside

Masterpieces in the Collection of George Blumenthal: a special exhibition, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1943-1944, no.33.

The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, January 18-March 29, The Art Institute of Chicago, May 16-July 15, 1970, pp.132-💜3, no.60.

S. Rubinstein-Bloch, Catalogue of the Collection of G. and F. Blumenthal, 1926, vol. 3, pl. XIV.

Masterpieces in the Collection of George Blumenthal, Me🦹tropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1943-1944, fig. 33, pl.XIV.

Etienne Bertrand, Émaux Limousins du Moyen Âge (Brimo de Laroussilhe), Paris 1995, p. 22, no. 5.

Vera K. Ostoia, The Middle Ages: Treasures from the Cloisters and the Metropolitan Museum of Art (exh.cat.),  Los Angeles County Museum of Art, January 18-March 29, 1970, The Art Institute of Chicago, May 16 🐷-July 5ꦕ, 1970, pp. 132-3, no. 60.

Overall standard wear. Some losses to enamel on most corners of roof panels (around nails), around upper corners on front panel, on lower right side of right side panel, small losses around other nails, and minor chips. Loss to copper of lower left corner (tip) of the front roof panel. The relief appliqué of Christ in majesty is replaced. The door and its hinges are replaced (and the enamel has some loss). Two nails lacking. Finial lacking. Beautiful quality of reliefs and engraving.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Only a very small group of tabernacles seem to have been produced in Limoges in the 12th and 13th centuries. There are 7 recorded examples of this type, including the present tabernacle, and they are preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2); t🎀he Museé du Louvre, Paris (2); the Church of San Sepolcro, Barletta, Italy (1); BayerischesNational Museum, Munich (1) and the Museo Nazionale del Bargello, Florence (1). Others of related form exist but they are significantly smaller and much more provincial in execution🙈.

This piece typified an aesthetic introduced by enamelers of Limoges at the end of the 12th century, as they began to present gilded figures in reserve and engraved or formed of relief appliqués against brilliantly colored and highlඣy decorative grounds. 

Tabernacles were used to contain a pyx in which the consecrated wafer of the mass was kept on the altar. The use of special containers for the consecrated wafer was developed during the persecution of early Christians. In 1215, the Fourtඣh Lateran council prescribed that the wafer should be kept only in a safe place. By the middle of the 13th century, a niche was set into the choir or within the altar for the vessel.