Panel
- Place of origin:
- Date:
late 17th century or early 18th century (painted)
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
Clear glass painted in brown, blue enamel and silver stain
- Credit Line:
Given by J. Pierpont Morgan
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
- Download image
In the latter part of the 17th century there was a vogue in the Lowlands and North Germany for displaying small painted glass panels with images of saints. These panels were decorated simply, painted with no leadworking and the images copied from popular engravings, and so were affordable to a wide range of people. They would be purchased for display in small churches, in the home or in civic buildings such as guildhalls.
This panel has a shield in the lower left which is the personal badge (or 'Housemark') of a professional person who commissioned this panel. The charge (or 'device') at the bottom of the shield could be a 'muehleisen' or 'mill iron' which was something that was set in a millstone to facilitate grinding. This could indicate that the person who commissioned this panel worked in the milling trade.
The figure in this panel is wearing clerical garments and on his head is a mitre, which identifies him as a bishop of the Christian Church. He holds a pastoral staff and a palm branch.
Palm branches had been thrown on the ground in front of Jesus Christ during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what became known as 'Palm Sunday'. In early Christian art, the palm branch became associated with the Christian concept of 'triumphing over death' by the salvation offered by Jesus Christ. It is the emblem of those who suffered and were killed for their belief in the Christian faith. The bishop in this image has not been identified, but he is likely to have been one of the martyred bishops of the early church. The first martyrs, killed during the persecutions against the Christians in the Roman Imperial period, are often depicted with a palm.
Physical description
A bearded male figure stands in the centre of this arched panel. He wears a bishop's mitre and holds a pastoral staff and a palm branch. The figure is painted in brown pigment on clear glass. At the base of the panel is a shield with an unidentified housemark. This is painted in brown, blue enamel and yellow stain. The panel has a simple border all round painted in yellow stain.
Place of Origin
Germany (painted)
Date
late 17th century or early 18th century (painted)
Artist/maker
Unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Clear glass painted in brown, blue enamel and silver stain
Dimensions
Height: 8.5 in, Width: 6.25 in
Object history note
Originally on loan from JP Morgan.
Historical context note
In the latter part of the 17th century there was a vogue in the Lowlands and North Germany for displaying small painted glass panels with images of saints. These panels were decorated simply, painted only with no leadworking and the images copied from popular engravings, and so were affordable to a wide range of people. They would be purchased for display in small churches, in the home or in civic buildings such as guild halls.
This panel has a shield in the lower left which is the personal badge ('Housemark') of a professional person who commissioned this panel. The charge (or 'device') at the bottom of the shield could be a 'muehleisen' or 'mill iron' which was something that was set in a millstone to facilitate grinding. This could indicate that the person who commissioned this panel worked in the milling trade.
The figure in this panel is wearing clerical garments and on his head is a mitre which identifies him as a bishop of the Christian Church. He holds a pastoral staff and a palm branch.
Palm branches had been thrown on the ground in front of Jesus Christ during his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on what became known as 'Palm Sunday'. In early Christian art, the palm branch became associated with the Christian concept of 'triumphing over death' by the salvation offered by Jesus Christ. It the emblem of those who suffered and were killed for their belief in the Christian faith.
The bishop in this image has not been identified but he is likely to have been one of the martyred bishops of the early church. The first martyrs, killed during the persecutions against the Christians in the Roman Imperial period, are often depicted with a palm.
Descriptive line
Clear glass panel painted in brown pigment, blue enamel and yellow (silver) stain. Depicting a bishop holding a crozier and a palm branch. German, late 17th or early 18th century.
Production Note
Possibly from a Northern German workshop.
Materials
Glass
Techniques
Painting; Silver staining
Subjects depicted
Bishop; Crosier
Categories
Religion; Stained Glass
Collection code
CER
