Reliquary casket with the Martyrdom of Saint Stephen,

ca. 1200

With its rich blue palette evoking the celestial realm, this casket is characteristic of enamel work from Limoges, in central France. The champlevé process involves filling recessed channels gouged into a copper plate with ground glass. Once heated, the glass melts and fuses to the plate, resulting in raised fields of color. This durable medium was in high demand across Europe because it produces sumptuous visual effects similar to those of gold and gems at a lower cost. The casket’s vivid narrative sequences depict the condemnation and stoning of Saint Stephen, Christianity’s first martyr. Although empty today, the casket once held an object associated with the saint; reliquaries such as this one were central to liturgical and devotional activity.