French, circa 1140-1240 and later

Private Collection;

London, Christie's, 25 June 1980, lot 209;

Private collection, Belgium;

London, Sotheby's, 5 July 2016, lot 7;

Where acquired.

The beautiful "streaky red"¹ and lustrous blue tones, together with the mosaic-like design of the pieces of glass seen in these impressive panels, are characteristic of 12th and early 13th century stained glass. The thick brows, prominent dark pupils, and rounded noses recall the figures in the 12th century Passion Window at Chartres Cathedral. Similarly, the jeweled collars and vividly colored drapery seen here find parallels in the early 13th century Life of St. Martin of Tours window from bay twenty at Chartres.

In the corners, pine cones are set among scrolling acanthus leaves—a motif associated with the crypt of the royal abbey of Saint-Denis. The choir of this abbey is often regarded as the earliest example of Gothic architecture, further attesting to the Gothic origins of the present panels.

¹ H. Arnold and L. Saint, Stained glass of the middle ages in England & France, London 1913, pp. 32 - 33.