Suger's Eagle [SEP] material used
Suger's Eagle
Suger's Eagle ("Aigle de Suger") is an ancient Egyptian porphyry vase mounted in a medieval silver-gilt eagle. It is now displayed along with the French regalia in the Galerie d'Apollon at the Louvre.
The vase likely dates to the second century . According to Suger, abbot of Saint-Denis, in his "De administratione", he found, "lying idly in a chest for many years, an Egyptian porphyry vase admirably shaped and polished." In his own words
, he determined to adapt and transfer ("adaptavimus ... transferre") it into a liturgical vessel "in the form of an eagle" ("in aquilae formam"), a symbol of Christ. Suger's Eagle is a typical case of the "careful preservation of the ancient relic in a setting which leaves it completely intact." On the bottom of the eagle is a nielloed "titulus": "This stone deserves to have mounts of gold and gems. / It was marble. Its settings are more