Panel of glass painted with enamels and yellow (silver) stain depicting the Virgin and Child flanked by St. John the Baptist and St. Pelagius? Made in Switzerland, dated 1689.

Roundel of painted glass. The Virgin and Child in an aureole between St. John Baptist and St. Pelagius (?); below are the arms of the Canton of Zug, with an inscription and the date 1689. The figures are represented in a landscape with a village in the background; St. John the Baptist holds the Paschel Lamb, and St. Pelagius (?) is in antique Roman costume, and holds a palm branch. The painting is in dark brown, red and silver yellow and in blue enamel, the design being partly executed by the use of the point.

Below the figure of the Virgin and Child is a coat of arms of the Swiss canton of Zug surrounded by the words:
Die Gmeind Menzingen Anno 1689

This roundel is made from one piece of glass and decorated with enamel paints and yellow (silver) stain. Unlike stained glass panels from the medieval period, this roundel does not use any lead lines to form its design. The imagery is painted on the glass, similar to painting on a canvas.

This type of glass decoration begins to emerge in the middle of the sixteenth century due to improvements in glass and paint technology. The enamel colours were produced by adding metallic oxides to a glass frit mixture and the resulting colour range included blues, reds and greens as we see here.

A much wider range of colours can be obtained from enamel paints but this surface-applied colour lacks the richness and transparency of glass coloured in the mix (potmetal.). The imagery can often appear very dark.

This roundel was probably commissioned by the community of Menzingen in the Swiss canton of Zug, the arms of which are depicted at the base.

The central image is of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child. Mary is crowned and holds a sceptre in her right hand thus symbolising her as ‘Queen of Heaven’. She stands on a crescent moon which is an emblem of her chastity.

On her right is St. John the Baptist holding the lamb (Agnus Dei) in reference to when he beheld Jesus Christ and said ‘Behold the Lamb of God’.

The saint on Mary’s left has been not been successfully identified. He wears antique Roman dress and carries a palm branch. This would indicate that he was martyred during one of the persecutions carried out by the Roman authorities in the first three centuries of the Christian era. He may well be the patron saint of the community of Menzingen.

This roundel is made from one piece of glass and decorated with enamel paints and yellow (silver) stain. Unlike stained-glass panels from the medieval period, no lead lines are used to form the design. The imagery is painted on the glass, similar to painting on a canvas.

This type of glass decoration began to emerge in the middle of the 16th century due to improvements in glass and paint technology. To produce the enamel colours, metallic oxides were added to a glass frit mixture. The resulting colour range included blues, reds and greens, as we see here.

A much wider range of colours can be obtained from enamel paints, but this surface-applied colour lacks the richness and transparency of glass coloured in the mix (pot metal). The imagery can often appear very dark.

This roundel was probably commissioned by the community of Menzingen in the Swiss canton of Zug, the arms of which are depicted at the base.

The central image is of the Virgin Mary holding the Christ Child. Mary is crowned as Queen of Heaven and holds a sceptre in her right hand. She stands on a crescent moon, an emblem of her chastity.

On her right St John the Baptist holds a lamb, a reference to his declaration when he beheld Jesus Christ: 'Behold the Lamb of God' (Agnus Dei).

The identity of the saint on Mary's left is uncertain. He wears antique Roman dress and carries a palm branch. This indicates that he was martyred during one of the persecutions carried out by the Roman authorities before the emperor Constantine legalised Christianity in 313. He may well be the patron saint of the community of Menzingen.

530-1907