Swiss Stained Glass before 1603
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Glasgow Museums has a collection of approximately 20 stained-glass panels from sixteenth century Switzerland. Most of the collection forms part of the Burrell Collection, donated to Glasgow in 1944 by Sir William and Lady Burrell. This collection comprises of small-scale roundels and rectangular stained-glass panels, depicting both secular and religious scenes. One miniature square panel, depicting a finely-detailed pageant and mock tournament, was one of the items loaned by William Burrell to the 1901 Glasgow International Exhibition held in Kelvingrove Park. The collection also includes two sixteenth century preparatory designs for Swiss stained glass, which were purchased by the Trustees of the Burrell Collection in 1982. Much of the glass is armorial and characterised by its use of vibrant enamel paints, applied directly to the surface of the glass, and its extremely fine detail. These miniature masterpieces are testament to the great skill of the Swiss artists’ who, through mastery of the use of enamels, successfully applied intricate designs to small and affordable panels. Usually placed within otherwise plain glazed windows, such panels were often commissioned by individuals, guilds or boroughs as a form of self-advertisement, and regularly incorporated arms, as a mark of trade or profession. The regulation of arms was less strictly enforced in much of continental Europe than it was in England at the time, and consequently the arms are often fictive and invented by the artist or commissioner of the work.
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