Siren Brooch-pendant

This openwork medallion, produced in the enamel workshops of Limoges, represents a bird-siren. This fantastical creature was first conjured up in Classical Antiquity, and was still very much part of the imaginary bestiary in medieval times, along with the fish-siren, an invention of the Middle Ages. Both versions of the siren are often associated with lust.

The creature depicted here has the head of a human and the body of a bird. The tail is decorated with a fleuron, a common motif in Limoges enamel. The wings resemble angel's wings, also very common in Limoges pieces. The medallion has an enamelled circular frame of rinceaux, finished with fleurons.

This type of decorative medallion was often used to adorn caskets.