Quatrefoil Roundel with Arms and Secular Scenes

Unknown

1490–1500 · Pot-metal glass, white glass, vitreous paint, and silver stain · The Cloisters

In the center of this panel are the imperial arms of Austria. The scenes in the quatrefoil represent a variety of secular vignettes. These scenes may signify a tournament masquerade of the type held in Nuremberg before Lent, which would explain the presence of fools, feasts, and lovers. Such imagery was understood as social satire in late medieval art. The number of similar quatrefoil panels that have survived suggests considerable popularity. The origin of the designs is uncertain, but many copies and variations were made in several Nuremberg, workshops, including that of Albrecht Dürer.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1490–1500

Medium

Pot-metal glass, white glass, vitreous paint, and silver stain

Culture

German

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

Samuel P. Avery Memorial Fund, 1911