In contrast to traditional stained glass, which was coloured with metallic oxides when molten, this fragment was made using a technique introduced to England in the early part of the 14th century. This consisted of painting a compound of silver on the back of the glass. After firing in a kiln, the silver compound would turn yellow. Many panels from the 14th and 15th centuries are decorated simply in yellow (silver) stain and highlighted with a brown–black pigment. Since the technique reduced the amount of leading required, it allowed greater freedom of composition.

This fragment shows what is probably a prophet holding a scroll with writing in black letters. Such panels were called ‘messenger panels’ because they convey the words of the prophets, believed to be God’s messengers. These prophet panels would have been located in a window in a church above panels showing scenes from the Old or New Testament of the Bible. The words on the scroll would relate to the events in the scenes below.

The religious conflicts that affected the British Isles in the 16th and 17th centuries had a devastating effect upon the decorative arts and furnishings of the Christian church. Much of the medieval stained glass in churches and cathedrals was damaged and only survives in a fragmentary state.