Glass Fragment
Unknown Artist
12th–14th century
Medium
Pot-metal glass, vitreous paint
Dimensions
Overall: 1 5/8 x 1 in. (4.1 x 2.5 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
1977.346.32
Art Historical Context
This delicate glass fragment, dating to the 12th–14th, offers a glimpse into the radiant world of French medieval stained glass Crafted in the Medieval Art tradition, it measures just 1 5/8 x 1 inches, likely a surviving piece from a larger cathedral window. Such fragments were common in grand Gothic and Romanesque structures, where colored light transformed sacred spaces into vivid storytelling arenas, illuminating biblical narratives for worshippers. The artwork showcases masterful pot-metal glass—a technique where metallic oxides like copper or cobalt were mixed into molten glass to create...