Daniel in the Lion's Den (above) and Unidentified Coat of Arms from Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy (below)
Acquired by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837-1913), New York, and installed in his library 1907-1909.
The upper panel of this composition depicts a scene from the biblical story of Daniel. The iconography of this scene is unusual and is based on a print published in 1565 by Philip Galle after Maarten von Heemskerck. Daniel is in the lions' den when an angel lowers the prophet Habakkuk to deliver him food. This details comes from an apocryphal addition to the book of Daniel and is rarely represented in stained glass. Below this, another panel presents an unidentified coat of arms of featuring a central shield of three fleur-de-lis, surrounded by lions and angular designs that resemble merlons.The inscription below translates to “Reverend Lord Maximilian, from the Imperial Vivarium Monastery of Malmedy, subprior and treasurer in the year of the lord 1661.” The monastery of Malmedy is part of the larger Abbey of Stavelot-Malmedy in present day Belgium. Notably, Morgan also acquired the Stavelot Triptych (AZ001.1-5) related to the abbey complex that this panel was made for.