Museum accessions.

A number of institutions have recently added to their collections exquisite objects that display the richness and variety of some of the world's great religions. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City acquired the important French enamel roundel illustrated below. Research to determine the composition of the enamel, particularly the metallic oxides utilized, indicates that the beautiful jewel-toned Crucifixion is the missing centerpiece of four enameled plaques with the symbols of the Evangelists that the Metropolitan Museum acquired from J. Pier-pont Morgan in 1917. At one time, the ensemble was probably used to ornament a book cover.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The enamels are attributed to the craftsmen at the French abbey church of Sainte-Foy in Conques, founded in 819, when Conques was a heavily forested and largely uninhabited region perfect for solitary prayer and contemplation. This environment was quite a contrast to the monastery at Agen, where hundreds of pilgrims journeyed to pay homage to the relics of Saint Foy, a martyred virgin said to have cured blindness and freed captives. In 866 the relics were stolen and brought to Conques by a Conques monk dispatched to Agen. By the eleventh century the pilgrim route had shifted to the new site, and it soon became necessary to build a larger church to accommodate the many travelers. These pilgrims often brought jewels to ornament the saint's statue, and renowned goldsmiths were enlisted to create decorative pieces and containers for the relics.

The enamels, like other pieces from the Conques repository, exemplify a distinctive technique and style practiced during the abbacy of Begon III in the late eleventh century. Such works are considered by many to be the real beginning of enameling in southwestern France. Hallmarks of the style include flourishes such as the use of a single cloison, or compartment, to form such details as the eyebrow and the nose of each figure on the roundel, and the bold oxblood color. The roundel is also an example of goldsmithing techniques of the period, including the use of superimposed copper plaques, on which the features and the drapery are very delicately defined.

To honor the contributions of Amy G. Poster, the former Lisa and Bernard Selz Curator of Asian Art, who retired from her position in 2006, the Brooklyn Museum recently purchased a sculpture entitled Shiva as Chandrashekhara. The bronze depicts the Hindu god of destruction and lord of the animals as Chandrashekhara, lord of the crescent moon. It was cast around 970, and is one of many high-quality bronzes created in southern India during the Chola dynasty, which reigned from the late ninth through the late thirteenth century. In two of his four hands the figure holds a battle-ax, representing his triumph over dissenting forces, and an antelope, reflecting his role as lord of the animals. Like many tenth-century Chola bronzes, the figure's jewelry is understated and his powerful body emphasized.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The statue is a religious relic that was historically incorporated into temple services, and holes in the base indicate that it could also be attached to a cart and included in religious processions. ...