Roundel with Daniel Slaying the Dragon
ca. 1520
Medium
Colorless glass, vitreous paint and silver stain
Dimensions
Overall Diam.: 8 1/2 in. (21.6 cm)
Classification
Glass-Stained
Culture
South Netherlandish
Department
The Cloisters
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Cloisters Collection, 1932
Accession Number
32.24.49
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate roundel, created around 1520 in the South Netherlands, captures the biblical story of Daniel slaying the dragon—a tale of faith overcoming false idols. Attributed to the artist known as Pseudo-Ortkens, the scene shows the prophet confronting the beast in a landscape that includes a distant castle, rendered with fine detail on a small scale of just eight and a half inches across. Such narrative roundels were popular in the early sixteenth century, often installed in windows of homes, chapels, or civic buildings to inspire moral reflection. The work exemplifies the refined glass-p...