Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Heraldic Panel with a Couple

Anonymous, Swiss
16th century

Heraldic Panel with a Couple

Red, blue, and rose pot metal and uncolored glass, with vitreous paint and silver stain. Both the rose and the blue glass are treated with silver stain. Red flashed and abraded glass is used in the arms. Extremely delicate stick work delineates the couple's clothing.
41.2 x 31.1 cm (16 1/4 x 12 1/4 inches)
AZ216
Provenance

Acquired by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), New York, and installed in his library 1907-9.

Inscriptions/Markings

The inscription and date at the bottom of the panel are a modern replacement.

Summary

The husband and wife stand on either side of an elaborate coat of arms. The deep red of the shield and mantling is silhouetted against the string-decorated gold ground above. To the left is the husband, wearing a light brown jacket and grey slashed breeches and grey stockings. He holds a pair of yellow gloves in this right hand. On the right, his wife is dressed in a light brown bodice with short puffed sleeves over a white long-sleeved blouse. Her left arm rests on the cord dangling across a long green skirt. Husband and wife stand in front of columns supporting a flat lintel. Above, on the left is a scene of men in a counting house with bull's-eye windows. To the right is an image (stopgap) of the Virgin Mary at prayer, a segment from an Annunciation. The bottom of the panel holds a cartouche with an inscription flanked by putti.

Classification
Department