In a strange setting, under the watchful eye of a donkey, a young girl is listening to the words of an old woman. The scene depicted on this enamel plaque is an episode from the Metamorphoses or the Golden Ass by Latin author Apuleius (2nd century A.D.). The main story tells the tale of Lucius, transformed into an ass, through a variety of techniques employed to interweave other tales of varying lengths.

The longest is the Tale of Cupid and Psyche recounted by an old woman to Charity, a young girl captured by bandits. This plaque, which originally adorned a coffer that has since disappeared, is dated to the second half of the 16th century. The scene, in 'grisaille'(in shades of grey) takes inspiration from mid-16th century etchings by the Master of the Die, an engraver featuring celebrated works by Raphaël (Urbino, 1483 – Rome, 1520). These engravings, based on the Italian master's compositions, were particularly popular in Limousin workshops. They can be found on numerous objects: a plaque with the same subject, attributed to Pierre Courteys (Limoges, circa 1520 – circa 1591), is held at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.