To provide an EL element seal plate capable of ensuring a high transparency.

The organic EL element has a top emission structure and comprises a platy transparent glass substrate made of alkali-free glass, an organic EL laminate formed on the glass substrate, and a seal plate bonded to the glass substrate with an ultraviolet-curing epoxy resin through peripheral protrusions surrounding the organic EL laminate. The seal plate is produced by placing a glass body 32 within a recessed member 36 which defines the counter of the glass body 32, heating a glass body 31 and the glass body 32 to 600 to 750°C at a temperature increase rate of about 50°C/min and thermally fusing them by causing the glass bodies 31 and 32 to approach to their respective recessed members 35 and 36 while keeping them at 600 to 750°C.