Object Image

Study for a Stained Glass Window with the Coat of Arms of the Barons von Paar (recto); Study for a Sceptre with the Initials MB (verso)

The inscription that wraps around this design for a stained-glass window identifies the arms as those of Marcus Belidorus de Casnio, an ancestor of the noble von Paar family. A bare-breasted woman supports the bottom of the family's coat of arms, which is tied to a leafless tree. From its branches hang other elements of their emblems. The crowned bull on the left carries the initials MB on the end of a sword. The motto hanging from the tree reads Stemmata virtuti et munificentie ad avcta. Herov[m] propria (The family trees of heroes grow greater through virtue and munificence), suggesting the continuation of the glory of de Casnio's descendants. A small turreted palace beside a lake in the back...

c. 1540
Pen and brown ink with gray wash (recto); black chalk (verso)
24.8 x 24.8cm
83.GA.193

Where you'll find this

The Getty Center
Permanent collection