Tazza with the Judgement of Moses,

1546

This footed bowl, or <em>tazza</em>, is the joint creation of Pierre Reymond, who signed and dated the foot, and Jean de Court, who initialed the bowl. The rarely illustrated scene, from Exodus 18:13–23, is based on an illustration by the Lyon printmaker Bernard Salomon (ca. 1508–1561) for Claude Paradin’s <em>Quadrins historiques de la Bible</em>, published in 1553; thus, the cup was painted later than the foot. Moses, enthroned in the camp of the Israelites as they wander in the desert, acts as judge for all disputes. Beside him, his father-in-law, Jethro, advises him to appoint additional judges to assist him in this task. The episode, which took place just before Moses received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai, was an important step in the founding of the Israelite polity. Limoges enamel makers illustrated other scenes from the life of Moses, which suggests that the objects were destined for a Calvinist clientele for whom the Hebrew Bible furnished a model for their own community governance. Religious art was forbidden in Calvinist temples, but objects with figural decoration were allowed for domestic display in Calvinist homes, where subjects from the Hebrew Bible would have been instructive and inspired emulation.