Foot of the Cross from the Abbey of Saint-Bertin, Saint-Omer (ca. 1170-1180)

A liturgical object in the shape of a dome surmounted by a square shaft, it was placed on an altar and served as a support for a mobile cross (also used during processions). It is decorated with enamels on gilded copper (coloured enamel powder, hot-melted onto engraved and then gilded plates) and gilded bronze statuettes in the round (three-dimensional). The ensemble responds to a complex figurative programme, linked to the crucifixion of Christ, present on the lost cross.

On these enamels, scenes from the Old Testament prefigure the Crucifixion and the Redemption (remission of sins by God), referring to Genesis (Gn), with the patriarchs Isaac and Jacob his son; to the Exodus (Ex) and Moses; and finally to the prophet Elijah, whose life recalls that of Jesus in certain aspects. Thus, on the base we see the blessing of Jacob whose arms form a cross (Gen), the sign of the Tau on the houses (Passover) and the bronze serpent (Ex); on the shaft: Isaac carrying the wood of the pyre (Gen), the rock of Horeb and the cluster of Canaan (Ex), the sign of the Tau on the foreheads of the Righteous (Book of Ezekiel), Elijah and the widow of Zarephath who crosses two sticks. The evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, who are seated on the plant border of the base, write their gospels (testimonies of the life, passion and message of Christ). They are inspired by their symbols, the angel, lion, ox and eagle. The capital with its plant decoration, above the pillar, is decorated with four busts, two of which are personifications of the two elements, as evidenced by the two inscriptions engraved on the upper side of the capital: water/sea (man holding a fish, Mare) and earth (woman with a spade, Terra). The other two busts represent, for the man raising his arm towards the cross (no longer there), the centurion Longin who, seized with fear, recognised the divinity of Christ (Mt 27, 54) and for the man holding a dragon, the personification of the Abyss, symbol of evil, defeated by Christ who died for the redemption of mankind (redemption).

In their design, their softened colours with shimmering effects, the enamelled scenes evoke works of the same technique executed at the Abbey of Stavelot (south of Liège), in the years 1150-1160. The natural poses, the expressive faces, the suppleness of the antiquisite draperies and the naturalism of the evangelists testify here to the growing interest of 12th century artists in ancient art.

The work must have been executed around 1170-1180, probably for the Abbey of Saint Bertin, at the probable initiative of Abbot Simon II (1176-1186), who undertook to reconstitute the abbey's treasury. It was either commissioned from a workshop in the Liège region (Mosan country), or the work of a silversmith who came from that region to work at St. Bertin's, at the abbot's request. This exceptional artist mastered the lost wax casting technique (evangelists and small bronze figures), which was less widespread than the technique of embossed and chased metal (hammer work).