Not currently on display at the V&A

Shepherds going to Bethlehem

Panel
1140 - 1145 (made)
Place of origin
Ile-de-France (made)

Semi-circular, with the straight edge on the left. Depicts three figures walking from right to left. The subject of the scene is the shepherds travelling to Bethlehem.


Object details

Category
Stained Glass
Object type
Panel
TitleShepherds going to Bethlehem (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Stained and painted glass
Stained Glass
Painted
Brief description
Clear and coloured glass with painted details. Depicting the shepherds going to Bethlehem. French (Ile-de-France), 1140-4
Physical description
Semi-circular, with the straight edge on the left. Depicts three figures walking from right to left. The subject of the scene is the shepherds travelling to Bethlehem.
Dimensions
  • Height: 572mm
  • Width: 291mm
Production typeUnique
Marks and inscriptions
(U)SQU(E): BETH(LEEM)/(TR)ANSEAMUS CA (the letters 'CA' are written by a different hand.)
Translation
they travel to Bethlehem
Object history
Made for the abbey of Saint Denis. The abbey was dismantled in the 1790s. Acquired by Lord Stuart de Rothesay in France, where he had been Goerge IV’s ambassador to Charles X. This is one of several panels from Saint Denis that he acquired. The panel was incorporated into the fabirc of Highcliffe Castle, Hampshire, which he built around 1820. After a fire in 1967 the glass was removed to the workshops of Dennis King in Norwich and acquired by the Museum in 1989.
Historical context
The choir of Saint Denis was consecrated in 1144.
The Saint Denis panels at Highcliffe consisted of two figurative panels and two ornamental panels.
Production
Formerly in the Abbey of Saint Denis, France
Bibliographic references
  • M.W. Cothren, 'Suger's stained glass masters and their workshop at Saint-Denis', in G. Mauner et al. (eds), Paris, Centre of Artistic Enlightenment, vol.4 of Papers in Art History from the Pennsylvania State University (University Park, 1988), pp.47-75
  • L. Grodecki, Etudes sur les vitraux de Suger a Saint-Denis (XIIe siecle), CVMA France, Etudes, vol.3 (Paris, 1995), pp.111-129
  • Grodecki, Louis, Les vitraux de Saint-Denis: étude sur le vitrail au XII siecle, CMVA France, Etudes, vol.I (Paris, 1976)
Collection
Ceramics Collection
Accession number
C.65-1989

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Record createdSeptember 25, 1998
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O9096/shepherds-going-to-bethlehem-panel/
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