The technique known a 'cuir bouilli' results in an embossed leather, which when dried is a hardened decorative leather artefact.
Repoussé is the process by which a decorative motif is created in relief, usually in metal, by means of hammering the design from the back or inside of a sheet of metal.
The object rendered in cuir, and photographed here, is a sculptural relief in a Gothic style. The subject is possibly Biblical and may be the baptism of Jesus by John the Baptist, or perhaps the evangelist, Saint Mark. The highly decorative relief sculpture contains both Christian and pagan iconography, with depictions of a Green Man, a serpent or snake, a chalice, and a lion.
