Return of Tobias to his father thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Return of Tobias to his father

Panel
ca. 1600 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This panel shows a scene from the Old Testament story of Tobias and the Angel. Here Tobias is returned to his father, having been helped by the Archangel Raphael (in disguise) to make a fish-based potion that will cure the merchant’s blindness.

It illustrates one of the new techniques for decorating glass that were introduced in the mid 16th century. Glassmakers used paints known as 'enamels' to paint directly onto the glass, similar to painting onto a canvas. The colours were produced by adding metallic oxides to a ground glass (frit) mixture. The resulting wide colour range included the delicate pinks, yellows, greens, reds and purples shown here.

Christoph Murer (1558-1614) was a distinguished Swiss glass painter. He produced numerous designs for stained glass windows, including a series based on Tobias and the Angel that includes this panel.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleReturn of Tobias to his father (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Stained glass
Brief description
Panel of clear and coloured glass painted with enamels and silver stain. Depicting an event from the Book of Tobit (Tobias and Sara return home). Swiss, painted by Lorenz Lingg, early 17th century
Physical description
Panel depicting the return of Tobias to the home of his father. Inscriptions above and below missing and replaced by pieces of Dutch glass.
Dimensions
  • Height: 34.8cm (Note: unframed)
  • Width: 23.8cm (Note: unframed)
Credit line
Purchased with funds from the Murray Bequest
Production
Designed by Murer but probably executed in South Germany, perhaps Ulm.
Subjects depicted
Literary reference<u>Book of Tobit</u>
Summary
This panel shows a scene from the Old Testament story of Tobias and the Angel. Here Tobias is returned to his father, having been helped by the Archangel Raphael (in disguise) to make a fish-based potion that will cure the merchant’s blindness.

It illustrates one of the new techniques for decorating glass that were introduced in the mid 16th century. Glassmakers used paints known as 'enamels' to paint directly onto the glass, similar to painting onto a canvas. The colours were produced by adding metallic oxides to a ground glass (frit) mixture. The resulting wide colour range included the delicate pinks, yellows, greens, reds and purples shown here.

Christoph Murer (1558-1614) was a distinguished Swiss glass painter. He produced numerous designs for stained glass windows, including a series based on Tobias and the Angel that includes this panel.
Collection
Accession number
C.569-1921

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Record createdJuly 16, 2002
Record URL
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