Gold plaque: God the Father, the Annunciation, the Crucifixion, Saint Anne and Saint George, with the donor (probably John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford) before Saint Catherine, Saint Christopher, Saint Stephen, and Saint Barbara, Paris, circa 1423-1430. Gold, translucent enamel on basse-taille gold, 6.7 x 4.8 cm. BRIMO DE LAROUSSILHE at TEFAF 2024. © 2024 TEFAF

Provenance: Probably made for John of Lancaster, Duke of Bedford, during is Regency of France, circa 1423 -1430; Baron Alphonse de Rothschild (1827-1905), Paris; Baron Edouard de Rothschild (1868-1949), Paris [Confiscated by the nazis after May 1940 and moved to the Jeu de Paume (ERR n° R2478); repatriated to France on 11 July 1946 and returned to the Rothschild collection]; Baroness Batsheva de Rothschild (1914-1999), Tel Aviv.

This little gold plaque is unquestionably among the most refined and accomplished examples of Medieval enamelwork. Stylistically, the type of figures together with the treatment of drapery and organisation of the space are fully consistent with the Parisian art of the 1420s and offer multiple comparisons with the art of illumination from the same period.
Given the absence of heraldic emblems, an indication of the patron’s identity can only be drawn from the specific choice and combination of different Saints, and of the place they occupy in the composition. Those represented here are among the most popular Saints of the period. However, the association of some of these with others on this plaque, and their placement, reveal a specific meaning that would have been determined by the patron. We should therefore note the extremely atypical and prominent place given here to Saint Anne and Saint George, who hold corresponding positions to either side of the Cross. The association of these two Saints in the central register of the composition, together with how the patron is shown as an important military figure kneeling at the foot of the Cross, allow us to suggest that he may be identified as John of Lancaster, first Duke of Bedford.
Third son of King Henry V of England, Lancaster became Constable of England in 1403 and Duke of Bedford in 1414. He acceded to the Regency of France on behalf of his nephew Henry VI in 1422. In 1423, he married Anne of Burgundy, daughter of Duke John the Fearless and Margaret of Bavaria. This alliance echoed the one sealed between the English and the Burgundians shortly after the Treaty of Troyes (1420), which disinherited Charles VI by placing the Kingdom of France under the Regency of the Crown of England. Thus, the association – as on the plaque – of Saint George, one of the principal patron saints of the Duke of Bedford, and of Saint Anne, the patron of his wife, makes a notable appearance on the two full-page illuminations of the Hours of the Duke of Bedford, where the Regent and his spouse are both depicted before these Saints, personal to each of them.
No gold plaque that might correspond with ours appears in any of the inventories or will of the Duke of Bedford. But the silence of these inventories, not a rarity when it comes to jewellery, in no way rules out that it was made for him. To the contrary, the date and iconography leave little doubt as to this identification. We might also add that the style we see here corresponds perfectly to what we know about the taste of John of Lancaster.
This very precious enamelled plaque later found its way into successive Rothschild collections form the 19th century onward. In May 1940, it was looted, with an important part of his collection, to Edouard de Rothschild by the Nazis, and returned in 1946.