Detail of Mary and Child

In this detailed image, the technical and artistic characteristics of the altarpiece can be better gauged. We see a close-up of the faces of Mary and the Child. The enamel work is exceptional. The garments and haloes are dominated by brilliant blues (light, sky and navy) and greens (light and spring). Particularly striking for their detail, gradation and decorative abstraction are the haloes of the Child and Mary. The reds and maroons are used for the books and other minor details. The faces of the Virgin and Child, in round figures, look at us with a brief, elegant smile. Their composition is frontal and hieratic, very much in keeping with the style of the period. The hands are in relief and the crowns are enriched with coloured stones. All the backgrounds are also worked with scrolls, interlacing and incised leaves. From a technical point of view, this is a truly unique and magnificent work.

Beyond the iconographic issues, several questions remain open. Was it made for the sanctuary? It certainly seems difficult. Neither its dedication nor its unbridled opulence coincide. Its location in San Miguel de Aralar seems more like a refuge. Some programs of study suggest that its initial destination was Pamplona Cathedral, perhaps under the episcopate of Pedro de París (1167-1193). From Pamplona it would reach San Miguel, a sanctuary closely linked to the episcopal see.

Where was it made? Traditionally, its formal characteristics have been related to Limoges and Byzantium, and more recently to Silos. It has been hypothesised that several leading craftsmen, under the protection of Pedro de Paris or King Sancho the Wise himself, were involved in Pamplona, meeting . This would justify the varied melting pot of influences and affiliations, and the enormous singularity of a unique work , fortunately preserved to this day. And perhaps, beyond its recent bizarre vicissitudes, we owe its preservation precisely to its surprising location on the heights of the mountain, sheltered from the cold and distance, far from historical flux and greed.