About the Artwork
In this circular stained-glass panel (known as a roundel), two imposing armored bears flank the civic coat of arms of Brugg, Switzerland, dominated by a bridge and tower. Each bear carries a halberd, a staff weapon often associated with guards who protected important people or sites like gates and bridges.
Brugg (which means “bridge” in the Swiss-German dialect) was named for its defining feature, which had offered important passage over the Aare River and through the Swiss Alps since Roman times. The tower of the medieval stone bridge, enlarged in 1532, still rises over Brugg’s skyline. For this roundel, Jakob Brunner used a variety of sophisticated techniques — including black enamel selectively scraped away to reveal the architectural details of the bridge and a golden stain made from silver nitrate — to portray this iconic symbol of his hometown in glowing translucent color.
Coat of Arms of the Town of Brugg
between 1565 and 1589
Jakob Brunner
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Swiss
Unknown
Stained glass: pot metal; white glass with silver stain and enamel
Overall: 12 1/2 inches (31.8 cm)
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European Sculpture and Dec Arts
Gift of George G. Booth
23.4
Public Domain
Markings
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Provenance
Lord Sudeley (Toddington Castle, Gloucestershire, England);October 4, 1911, (Galerie Helbing, Munich, Germany) lot 75;
until 1922, (Theodore Fischer, Lucerne, Switzerland);
until 1923, George G. Booth (Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, USA);
1923-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)
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Provenance pageExhibition History
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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.
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Suggest FeedbackPublished References
Lehmann, H. Die ehemalige Sammlung schweizerischer Glasmalereien in Toddington Castle, England. Munich, 1911, p. 61, no. 75.
Burroughs, Clyde. "Stained Glass Presented by Mr. George G. Booth." Bulletin of the DIA 4, no. 7 (April 1923): p. 59.
Schneider, J. "Zeugnisse schweizerischer Glasmalerei in amerikanischen Museen."
Zeitschrift für Archäologie un Kunstgeschichte 19 (1959): p. 97.
Stained Glass Before 1700 in American Collections: Mid-western and Western States (Corpus Vitrearum Checklist III). Studies in the History of Art, vol. 28. Washington, DC, 1989, p. 166 (ill.).
Raguin, V. and H. Zakin. Stained Glass Before 1700 in the collections of the Midwest States (Corpus Vitrearum United States of America 7), vol I, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan. London, 2001, pp. 266-268, no. DIA 48 (ill.).
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Credit Line for Reproduction
attributed to Jakob Brunner, Coat of Arms of the Town of Brugg, between 1565 and 1589, stained glass: pot metal; white glass with silver stain and enamel. Detroit Institute of Arts, Gift of George G. Booth, 23.4.
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