Shrine of the Virgin (detail)
by NICHOLAS OF VERDUN, Silver-gilt, copper-gilt, enamel, over wooden core
Towards the end of the twelfth century, Nicholas of Verdun, the most celebrated goldsmith between Romanesque and Gothic art, appeared again in the very fertile Mosan area. The date of two of his works is known: the celebrated altarpiece at Klosterneuburg near Vienna (1181) and the Shrine of the Virgin in Tournai Cathedral.
The detail of the Shrine of the Virgin represents The Flight into Egypt.