The enduring appeal of Limoges

Camille Okhio | Elle Decor | 20th October 2025

Enamelling started in monasteries in the Middle Ages. Its heyday, though, was in the Renaissance when a technique was developed to paint translucent paste onto a metal surface before firing. This allowed for more precise, free-flowing images. Multiple layers created painterly images in gleaming (unfading) colours on small caskets, plates and rings. Of course, it was frightfully expensive and most work went to royalty, the church or the Rothschilds. A specialist gallery in Paris is the place to go if interested.