On this enameled plaque, gilded copper figures of a crucifixion group shine against a dark-blue background decorated with floral ornaments (rosettes) and two horizontal turquoise stripes. In the center of the image, framed by multicolored half-rosettes, stands Christ on the cross. He is flanked by the Virgin Mary and St. John. In the upper part of the green cross, a symbol of the Resurrection, is inscribed the monogram of Christ (“IH ̅S XP ̅S”). Above it appears the hand of God. In the upper corners of the plaque, two angels sit with books on artfully shaded semicircles that suggest clouds. Halos encircle the heads of the figures. Stylized hills rise at the feet of Christ, Mary, and John. Below the cross, a small figure, Adam, rises from his grave. This refers to Christ’s descent into the underworld (Latin: Descensus Christi ad Inferos) and the Christian belief that he freed the souls of the righteous on the night after his crucifixion (Ephesians 4:9 and 1 Peter 3:19).

This well-preserved plaque once adorned the elaborate cover of a liturgical book, probably a Gospel book. It is a typical example of the zenith of high-quality serial production in the Limousin enamel workshops in the first decades of the thirteenth century. Comparable plaques with similar characteristics in form and style can be found in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no. OA6173), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no. 17.190.785), and the Toledo Museum of Art (inv. no. 1950.254). The gilded copper figures with their anatomical details are engraved and chiseled, while the relief heads were first cast, then engraved, and finally attached to the plate. The plaques were embedded in wooden panels that served as bindings for liturgical books. The crucifixion group adorned the front cover, while the Majestas Domini—Christ on the throne, surrounded by the four symbols of the evangelists—decorated the back cover.