Adoration of the Shepherds
Italian, Lombardy, probably Milan
Enamel painters in fifteenth-century Lombardy applied opaque colors on top of broad areas of brilliantly colored translucent enamels that were fused to grounds of silver. Their work is highly decorative; unlike enameled gold or enameled cooper, however, enameled silver is inherently unstable and easily perishes, so that examples seldom survive in good condition.