1542
Tile Panel showing an Emblem of Anne de Montmorency, Constable of France
Masséot AbaquesneFrench, documented 1526-1557, died before 1564
This panel was originally made as part of a tiled pavement covering the floor of a lavishly decorated gallery in the Château d'Écouen, near Paris. It was one of several projects in fashionable glazed ceramic made by the Rouen potter Masséot Abaquesne, who was pioneer of a ceramic technique introduced to France from Italy.
The emblem is that of Anne, Duke of Montmorency, for whom the Château d’Écouen was constructed. As constable of France (the highest ranking official in the kingdom), Montmorency was commander-in-chief of the armies of King Francis I, as well as bearer of the king's sword, depicted here on either side of his initials. The scrolls bear the constable's motto: APLANOS, meaning "straightforward."
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