French - Figure of a Deacon - Walters 4418

This relief figure resembles a statuette now in the church of Les Billanges (western France). Both figures hold a rectangular object upright against their chest that has been identified as a reliquary of the True Cross, representing that sent to the nearby Abbey of Grandmont by King Amaury of Jerusalem (r. 1162-74). Like the French statuette, this example was part of a monument that once graced the church of Grandmont, perhaps a monumental cross or an altar frontal. Grandmont was a religious foundation established by St. Stephen of Muret (ca. 1044-1125). A number of enamels survive from the main church and its dependencies.