Panel
- Place of origin:
England, Great Britain (made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
Whall, born 1849 - died 1924 (maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Stained and painted glass.
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
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Christopher Whall began designing stained glass panels in the 1880s. At that time and until 1907 when he opened his own workshop, Whall did not construct his own windows and instead relied on the skilled glass craftsmen employed by such firms as Lowndes & Drury.
Whall was one of the earliest stained glass artists to make use of 'slab' glass. This had been invented by E.S. Prior in 1889 and is also known as 'Early English' glass. Slab glass is blown into a square mould and then cut into slabs. The resultant slabs are irregular in thickness and in colour (when coloured glass is blown). The light that passes through such glass is broken up, producing a variable effect in each individual piece of glass. Whall was a master in exploiting the qualities of this new technique in glass production.
Physical description
Depicts St Agatha shown in profile looking to our left. She is dressed in a long flowing robe and holds a martyr's palm frond in her right hand. She is wearing a tiara. The figure is surrounded by foliate and floral detail and is executed in shades of grey, pale blue, green and yellow stains. Some small areas of dark blue above the head and below the feet. The palm fronds are in dark green.
Place of Origin
England, Great Britain (made)
Date
c.1901 - 1910 (made)
Artist/maker
Whall, born 1849 - died 1924 (maker)
Materials and Techniques
Stained and painted glass.
Dimensions
Height: 31.25 in, Width: 12.25 in
Object history note
Possibly made for the Arts and Crafts Exhibition of 1910, this panel and C.87-1978 are small scale copies of the western-most window of the Lady Chapel at Gloucester Cathedral, designed by Whall in 1900.
Historical context note
Christopher Whall began designing stained glass panels in the 1880s. At that time and until 1907 when he opened his own workshop, Whall did not construct his own windows and instead relied on the skilled glass craftsmen employed by such firms as Lowndes & Drury.
Whall was one of the earliest stained glass artists to make use of 'slab' glass. This had been invented by E.S. Prior in 1889 and is also known as 'Early English' glass. Slab glass is blown into a square mould and then cut into slabs. The resultant slabs are irregular in thickness and in colour (when coloured glass is blown). The light that passes through such glass is broken up, producing a variable effect in each individual piece of glass. Whall was a master in exploiting the qualities of this new technique in glass production.
Descriptive line
Panel of painted and stained slab glass. Designed by Christopher Whall, English, c.1901-10.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Cormack, Peter. Christopher Whall 1849-1924: Arts and Crafts Stained Glass Worker, Walthamstow, 1979. Exhibition Catalogue.
This panel illustrated on the cover with the Gloucester window inside.
Exhibition History
RCA 175th Anniversary (Royal College of Art 15/11/2012-03/01/2013)
Life and Art: Arts and Crafts from Morris to Mingei (V&A Tour 01/01/2008-31/12/2009)
Christopher Whall (William Morris Gallery 01/01/1979-31/12/1979)
Production Note
Attribution note: Possibly made for exhibition.
Materials
Stained glass
Subjects depicted
Agnes (Saint)
Production Type
Unique
Collection code
CER
