Gothic ornaments of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries show a peculiar love for figurative and architectural motives which exhibit astonishing technique and beauty of form. Towards the middle of the fourteenth century there came into use enamel on full relief (_émail en ronde bosse_). In the inventories of the time, where it is frequently mentioned, this enamel, usually opaque white, is termed _émail en blanc_. So charming was the contrast of white, marble-like figures by the side of gold, bright coloured stones, and polychrome enamels, that for upwards of three centuries goldsmiths continued to apply this species of enamel to jewels. It was particularly characteristic of the fifteenth century. Several brooches ornamented with it will be referred to later (p. 143); but the most remarkable example of its use is the wonderful votive jewel of French workmanship termed "Das Goldene Rössel," in the treasury of the abbey church of Altoetting, in Bavaria, which dates from about 1400.[32] The minute repoussé figures on sixteenth-century jewels were usually coated with white enamel; and jewellery _émaillée de blanc_ is often alluded to in inventories. This species of enamel was discarded in the seventeenth century, when figures in relief went out of fashion for jewellery. [32] _Kunstdenkmale des Königreiches Bayern_, I, iii, p. 2364. 1903. Though towards the close of the Middle Ages the art of cutting precious stones and even diamonds was certainly practised, yet it is to be observed that throughout the whole period jewellery is set as a rule with stones _en cabochon_, i.e. with their surfaces rounded and polished in a convex shape, but not faceted. The stone treated thus preserves its own character and individuality; and much of the charm of early jewellery is due to this very fact. From the middle of the thirteenth century enamel in general, though applied to jewels of commoner kinds, is chiefly limited to the more sumptuous ornaments of the clergy. But with the beginning of the fourteenth century the delight in jewellery enriched with enamels and precious stones is again revealed in the costumes of the laity. At the French Court of John II (_le Bon_, d. 1364) and Charles V (d. 1380), where the princes of the royal blood strove to outrival one another in luxurious display, personal adornments attained an extraordinary degree of splendour, and were worn to an excess of ostentation.[33] [33] Some estimate of their magnificence and extent may be obtained by means of contemporary inventories. The most remarkable inventory is perhaps that of John's eldest son, Charles V--"the Wise"--drawn up in 1379 and published by J. Labarte. Scarcely less remarkable are the jewel inventories of his three other sons, Louis Duke of Anjou, John Duke of Berry, and Philip (le Hardi) Duke of Burgundy, which have been published respectively by L. de Laborde, J. Guiffrey, and B. Prost.