Lion Heads under the Ridge Ornament
In addition to numerous enamels with leaf ornamentation, the shrine features a few highly precious panels with champlevé figures. For this method of enamelling, a burin is used to etch out the outlines of the drawing in the copper plate. These recesses are then filled with enamel. Firing the enamel gives its colour a brilliant sheen. The panel with the four lion heads in round medallions seems to have been copied directly from a book of animal images. Such books of templates did exist and often contained motifs and images from ancient art. The lion heads on the Shrine of the Magi are copies of ancient animal images.
