The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of October 7, 2026

A vertically oriented, pointed-arch glass panel features a diamond-shaped grid filled with stylized white leaves and black veining. Small green and red circular accents mark the vertical center. To the left and right, arched borders showcase alternating red and gold leaves against a dark background. An outer border of white rectangular panes follows the curved silhouette. Thick dark leading lines define the composition and hold the patterned glass in place.

Stained Glass Panel with Aconite Leaves

c. 1275–1300

France, Alsace, 13th century

(?)
pot-metal and white glass, silver stain
Overall: 55.9 x 33.4 cm (22 x 13 1/8 in.)
Gift of Ella Brummer in Memory of her Husband, Ernest Brummer 1977.89
Location: Not on view

Description

This stained glass panel is decorated in a grisaille (monochromatic) technique but also includes a colored border using pot-metal glass. The original source of the glass is unknown. The ban of 1134 by the Cistercian Order against using figural art and brightly colored glass suggests this panel may derive from a window in one of that order’s churches. This is the earliest stained glass in the museum’s collection.
  • Biro, Yaëlle, Christine E. Brennan, and Christel H. Force. The Brummer Galleries, Paris and New York: Defining Taste from Antiquities to the Avant-Garde. Leiden ; Boston : Brill, 2023. Mentioned: p. 490; reproduced: p. 492, fig. c.7
  • Year in Review: 1977. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 28, 1977-January 22, 1978).
    New York, NY: Cloisters; 1968. "Medieval Art from Private Collections," cat.no196.
  • {{cite web|title=Stained Glass Panel with Aconite Leaves|url=false|author=|year=c. 1275–1300|access-date=07 October 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1977.89