Rouen (Seine-Maritime)
Abbey of St Amand

Abbey crosier

Second half of the 12th century

On the circular section socket of the crosier is engraved the device of the abbess, argue-observa-increpa (pray, exhort, correct) the formulation of which is borrowed from the epistle of Saint Paul to Timothy (II, chap. IV, v.2). The knot which is smooth, is flattened, and the scroll, terminated by a serpent's head with coiled horns, emerges from a corolla. This crosier can be compared to that of Willemus de Chartres (Florence, Bargello), dated c. 1175, by the style of its enamels. The tip in flattened cone form is decorated with a knot in the form of a flattened sphere.

Dimensions of the object
H. 24 cm ; w. max.  8.8 cm

Bibliography
- Exhibition : Trésors des abbayes normandes, Rouen et Caen, 1979, n° 273, p. 246

Location
Musée départemental des Antiquités de Rouen, Seine-Maritime
inv.  908

Photography
Yohann Deslandes, Musée des Antiquités de Rouen