Fragment
Unknown Artist
ca. 1200
Medium
Pot-metal glass, vitreous paint, lead
Dimensions
Overall: 7 7/16 x 5 7/8 x 3/16 in. (18.9 x 15 x 0.5 cm)
Classification
Glass-Stained
Culture
French
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Ella Brummer, in memory of her husband, Ernest Brummer, 1977
Accession Number
1977.346.3
Art Historical Context
This delicate stained glass fragment, dating to around 1200 and originating from France, offers a glimpse into the luminous world of medieval church decoration. Created during the early Gothic period, when grand cathedrals like Notre-Dame and Chartres were rising, such panels transformed sacred spaces into vibrant storytelling mediums. Though the exact scene it depicted—likely biblical or saintly—is lost, its survival speaks to the era's architectural ambition and devotion. Crafted from pot-metal glass, where metallic oxides were fused into the molten silica for deep, jewel-like colors, the f...