Glass Fragment
Unknown Artist
12th–14th century
Medium
Pot-metal glass, vitreous paint
Dimensions
Overall: 2 7/8 x 1/2 inches (7.3 x 1.27 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
1977.346.39
Art Historical Context
This delicate *Glass Fragment* from 12th–14th France offers a tantalizing glimpse into the luminous world of medieval stained glass. Likely salvaged from a grand Gothic cathedral window—such as those in Chartres or Notre-Dame—these tiny shards (just 2⅞ × ½ inches) once formed part of vast narrative panels that bathed sacred spaces in jewel-toned light. Crafted during the High Middle Ages, when stained glass reached its zenith, this piece reflects the era's devotion to divine storytelling through art, where sunlight filtering through colored glass symbolized God's radiance. The fragment's medi...