French Art Bronze Brooch St Eloi by Line Vautrin

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A rare bronze brooch St Eloi by Parisian art jeweler Line Vautrin ((French, 1913–1997) circa 1946. Brilliantly designed in the … Read more A rare bronze brooch St Eloi by Parisian art jeweler Line Vautrin ((French, 1913–1997) circa 1946. Brilliantly designed in the shape of horseshoe with the saint spreading his arms holding the attribute. With St Eloi carved in the front. Marked on the back.
Known as St Eloi in French, St. Eligius (590-659) was the master of the Mint and goldsmiths of the Merovingian Konigshof and later became Bishop of Noyon. For centuries he was worshiped as the patron saint of the goldsmith, of which many works of art give evidence especially between the Middle Ages and the Baroque in the French and Flemish regions. The horseshoe is one of the attributes of the saint, which indicates a miracle done by him: he took one leg off an injured horse and put it back on again. Horseshoes were very popular in 19th century jewelry as symbols of happiness. Here it is clearly related to the sacred and interpreted as a motive in the sense of the ecclesiastical legend.
Reference: Line Vautrin by Anne Bokelberg. Illustration on page 41. See less