The Arms of Margaret of Berghes and Jan de Geloes
Panel
1624 (made)
1624 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Decorated windows could be very expensive to produce. A church that wished to glaze its windows with elaborately painted glass would have to seek sponsorship. In large cathedrals, wealthy ecclesiastics or members of royal families would often supply the necessary funds. Smaller institutions would have to seek financial assistance from well-off members of their communities, both ecclesiastical and lay. The people who contributed these funds are known as 'donors'. The donors could choose to be depicted in the windows they financed. Alternatively, they might display only their armorial bearings, as we see here. In this panel, the donors' arms are those of Margareta de Bergis, who was abbess of Herckenrode, and Johannes Geloes, a priest in Hasselt.
The Cistercian abbey of Herckenrode is situated near Hasselt, in modern-day Belgium. It was closed down at the time of the French Revolution, which began in 1789.
We do not know where this window originally came from. In Lichfield Cathedral in England there are windows from the abbey of Herckenrode, and we know that Abbess Margareta donated sums for their creation. However, the other donor of the panel in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Jan Galoes, was the parish priest of Hasselt. So it is possible that this panel came from a church there.
The Cistercian abbey of Herckenrode is situated near Hasselt, in modern-day Belgium. It was closed down at the time of the French Revolution, which began in 1789.
We do not know where this window originally came from. In Lichfield Cathedral in England there are windows from the abbey of Herckenrode, and we know that Abbess Margareta donated sums for their creation. However, the other donor of the panel in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Jan Galoes, was the parish priest of Hasselt. So it is possible that this panel came from a church there.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Arms of Margaret of Berghes and Jan de Geloes (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Clear, coloured and flashed glass painted with enamels |
| Brief description | Clear, coloured and flashed glass painted with enamels. Depicting the arms of Margaret of Berghes and Jan de Geloes. Made in the Netherlands, dated 1624 |
| Physical description | Panel. Two oval medallions, each in a border of foliage, berries, flowers and fruit, (1) the arms of Margareta de Bergis, abbess of Herckenrode, surmounted by an abbess'crozier. Below, a cartouche with inscription:-ADMODUM RDA ET PRAENOBILIS DOMINA D MARGARETA DE BERGIS, ABBATISSA IN HERCKENRODE DONAVIT ANO 1624 QUI PATITUR VINCIT. Above, St. Luke with the ox. (2) An angel holding the arms of Johannes Geloes, priest of Hasselt. Below, a cartouche inscribed RDUS DNS AC M IOHANNES GELOES S THEOL LICENT ET HUIUS OPPIDI HASSELLEN PASTOR DEDIT ANO 1624 CRUX LIMA CORDIS. Above, St. Matthew with the angel. The remainder of the window filled with elaborate ornament. White, blue and green glass. Flasked and abraded ruby. Brown and enamel colours. Silver-yellow stain (two shades). |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label | PANEL WITH THE ARMS OF MARGARET OF BERGHES AND JAN DE GELOES
The upper of the two oval medallions contains the arms of 'Margareta de Bergis' (Margaret of Mons), the abbess of the Cistercian abbey of Herkenrode in Belgium; the lower contains those of Jan de Geloes, a parish priest of nearby Hasselt, and it is possible that the window was made for the church of the Béguinage (the foundation of lay sisters) there. Because only two of the four evangelists are shown (Sts Luke and Matthew), it is likely that this panel only represents half of the original composition.
Netherlands, dated 1624
Museum no. C.54-1910((PW) 2003) |
| Object history | From a church in Hasselt or from the Cistercian Abbey of Herckenrode, near Hasselt, province of Limburg, Belgium |
| Historical context | Decorated windows could be very expensive to produce. A church wishing to glaze its windows with elaborately painted glass would have to seek sponsorship. In large cathedrals, wealthy ecclesiastics or members of royal families would often supply the necessary funds. Smaller institutions would have to seek financial assistance from well-off members of their communities, both ecclesiastical and lay. The people who contributed these funds are known as 'donors'. The donors could choose to have themselves depicted in the windows they financed or they could instead display only their armorial bearings as we see in this panel. The donors whose arms are displayed in this panel are Margareta de Bergis who was abbess of Herckenrode and Johannes Geloes, a priest in Hasselt. The Cistercian abbey of Herckenrode is near Hasselt, in modern day Belgium. The abbey was closed down at the time of the French Revolution. It is not known where this window was originally located. In Lichfield Cathedral there are windows from the abbey of Herckenrode and it is known that the Abbess Margareta donated sums for the creation of these. However, the other donor of the V&A panel, Jan Galoes, was the parish priest of Hasselt and so it is possible that the panel came from a church there. |
| Summary | Decorated windows could be very expensive to produce. A church that wished to glaze its windows with elaborately painted glass would have to seek sponsorship. In large cathedrals, wealthy ecclesiastics or members of royal families would often supply the necessary funds. Smaller institutions would have to seek financial assistance from well-off members of their communities, both ecclesiastical and lay. The people who contributed these funds are known as 'donors'. The donors could choose to be depicted in the windows they financed. Alternatively, they might display only their armorial bearings, as we see here. In this panel, the donors' arms are those of Margareta de Bergis, who was abbess of Herckenrode, and Johannes Geloes, a priest in Hasselt. The Cistercian abbey of Herckenrode is situated near Hasselt, in modern-day Belgium. It was closed down at the time of the French Revolution, which began in 1789. We do not know where this window originally came from. In Lichfield Cathedral in England there are windows from the abbey of Herckenrode, and we know that Abbess Margareta donated sums for their creation. However, the other donor of the panel in the Victoria and Albert Museum, Jan Galoes, was the parish priest of Hasselt. So it is possible that this panel came from a church there. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.54:1-1910 |
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| Record created | January 26, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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