Stained Glass Design for a Married Couple

This design for a circular stained-glass window commemorates the marriage between Bitzius Haller and Barbara Fluomann, members of prominent Swiss families from Bern. An inscription around the base of the roundel details the commission, while an empty scroll at the top provides room for other lettering. On the left side, above one coat of arms, a beehive supports the figure of a man covered with the family emblems and carrying a flail. The female figure on the right rests on another beehive above her coat of arms; she carries a distaff, a tool used for spinning. To produce a stained-glass window, patrons commissioned an artist to make a cartoon for the design. Once the patrons had approved this image, another specialist craftsman cut the glass in shapes and colors according to the design or painted the scene directly onto a colorless glass panel.

Digital image and text courtesy of the Getty's Open Content Program.