Heraldic Panel Canton of Zurich

Iconography

Description

The circular panel, divided into two concentric registers, shows a well preserved and meticulously rendered shield of the Canton of Zurich and its affiliated localities. An inner circle is framed by a green laurel wreath over a blue border. In the center, in a pyramid form, are two shields of the Canton of Zurich surmounted by that of the Holy Roman Empire. They are flanked by lions standing on their hind legs, their paws resting on the imperial crown. On the right one carries an imperial orb and on the left the lion carries a sword. They stand in front of a low balustrade on a black and white checkered floor. Behind them is a blue arch draped with blue fabric. Below are three shields. Encircling the scene is a ring consisting of 32 shields. The outer circle carries the place names.

Iconclass Code

46A122(ZURICH) · armorial bearing, heraldry (ZURICH)

Iconclass Keywords

coat of arms · heraldry

Heraldry

Zurich: Per pale argent and azure twice repeated, or a double-headed eagle displayed sable crowned beaked and armed or (the Empire); crest: an Imperial crown proper; supporters, two lions rampant guardant or holding in their dexter and sinister paws the Imperial sword and orb.
Surrounding shields [top and clockwise] 1. Paly of six argent and azure and overall a fess gules (Regensdorf); 2. Per chevron sable and or three orbs counterchanged (Maschwanden); 3. Gules Saint George slaying the dragon proper (Stein a/Rhein); 4. Gules a bend or between two lions passant and two stars of the second (Andelfingen); 5. Gules a mantle clasp or (Wädenswil); 6 Per bend gules and argent (Bülach); 7. Or a pile sable dexer (Hedingen); 8. Gules a city gate proper, in chief a rainbow of the same (Regensberg); 9. Gules a demi-unicorn rampant couped proper (Rümlang); 10 Or a demi-beach two leaves and slipped vert impaling gules a log couped proper (Stammheim); 11. Or a twin-towered castle sable on a triple mount vert and in chief two stars or [rect gules] (Meilen); 12. Argent St. Verena standing and holding a comb and a watering pot all proper (Stäfa); 13. Gules a swan proper (Horgen); 14. Per bend in chief azure a star of six points or in base argent a bend gules (Zollikon); 15. Gules a cushion or (Küsnacht); 16. Azure a fess nebuly argent (Steinegg); 17. Or a lion rampant sable (Hegi); 18. Or impaling fessy of five argent and gules (Wollishofen); 19. Argent a pair of bullrushes per saltire proper (Thalwil); 20. Azure a rose argent seeded or (Kilchberg); 21 Or an otter rampant sable holding a fish [rect azure] (Männedorf); 22. Azure two fleur-de-lis scepters per saltire argent (Fluntern); 23. Or a bear’s head couped sable langued gules (Sellenbüren); 24. Per fess azure and argent in chief a crescent or in base argent two roses gules seeded or (Neüwampf); 25. Vert a lion rampant argent langued and armed or (Grüningen); 26. Azure a bend or between two lions passant of the same (Kyburg); 27. Or a stag trippant sable on a triple mount argent (Eglisau); 28. Gules a fess argent in chief two dogs’ heads erased sable langued gules collared argent in base two of the same (Elgg); 29. Gules two arms garbed or with hands erect proper (Laufen); 30. Or a mill iron sable (Freiamt); 31. Or a griffon rampant gules (Greifensee); 32. Argent a bend gules between two lions passant of the same (Winterthur); arms in triplet: Argent in chief a bunch of grapes in base a barrel all proper (Weinfelden); Per pale or and gules (Sax); Gules three arrows fesswise or (Pfyn).

Inscription

Rägenspurg; Maschwanden; Steinn; Andelfingen; Wädenschwÿl; Bülach; Hedingen; Regenspärg; Rümlang; Stamen; Meylen; Stäffen; Horgen; Zollicken; Küssnacht; Steinegg; Hegi; Wollishoffen; Dallwyll; Kilchberg; Mänidorff; Flunteren); Selenbüren; Neüwampt; Grüningen; Kyburg; Eglisauw; Elgg; Lauffen; Freyampt; Greyffensee; Winterthur (top and counterclockwise)
Wynfelden; Sax; Pfyn (over arms in triplet)

Signature

none

Technique / State

State of Conservation and Restorations

The panel has almost no breakage except for mending leads on its outer border and three cracks in the shields. All leading is modern. The crisp black grisaille outlines on the vault and draperies in the central image may suggest that it has been retouched

Technique

The panel consists of predominantly uncolored glass with light blue pot metal glass tinted by silver stain to achieve the color of the laurel wreath that encircles the central image. Blue, green, and purple enamel, with silver stain and vitreous paint, produce detail. Many of the shields use red flashed and abraded glass. The central composition consists of a single piece of white glass painted to profile the lions against an architectural background of blue enamel; silver stain enhances both the lions and their architectural setting… More

History

Research

The panel suggests the compositional style of the Zurich artist Hans Jakob Nüscheler II (1614–1658), who followed the vocation of his grandfather, Heinrich Nüscheler (1550–1616) and his well-known father, Hans Jakob Nüscheler the Elder (1583–1654). Hans Jakob the Younger was trained in Zurich, where he produced a variety of Standesscheiben and heraldic and allegorical panels; he achieved his Meisterrecht (Master craftsman) as a glasspainter in 1540. Nüscheler the Elder’s work is exemplified by a heraldic panel of Zurich, dated by inscription to 1616, containing the shields of thirty-five dependent cities (Nuremberg, Germanisches National Museum, MM916: Hess, & Hirschfelder, 2010, pp. 180, 397, fig. 142). The Los Angeles panel, however, adds a distinctive architectural setting behind the lions. That setting appears in the Arms of the Canton of Zurich with 35 dependent shields, dated 1645 and attributed to Hans Jakob the Younger (Krefeld, Bremen Collection; Bremen, 1964, pp. 106–107, no. 55). The design of architectural details, as well as the lions’ positions, gestures, and their relationship to the background correspond the circular panel in Los Angeles. The lions' furry aspect, their bushy flowing manes, and their square jaws are derived from his father's style, whereas Nüscheler II faces both lions frontally and exaggerates their claws gripping the crown and regalia. Most characteristic of the LACMA panel and Krefeld example is the stage-like design of the background and drapery, and its relationship to the golden balustrade and checkered pavement below. The similarities that argue for an attribution to Nüscheler II are strong. It is vexing to see an absence of date in the LACMA example, which was an important element of the commission and normally included between the two Zurich shields. On stylistic grounds, however, the work can be dated from 1640 to the artist's death in 1658, within which time the artist produced more than forty cantonal commissions.

Cited in:
Hayward, 1989, p. 78.
Raguin, 2024, vol. 1, pp. 38–39, 225–30.

Less

Dating

c. 1640–1658

Period

1640 – 1658

Previous Location

unknown

Place of Manufacture

Zurich · Zürich District · Canton of Zurich · Switzerland

Previous Owner

The Hearst Inventory of 1943 claims that the panel was once part of the illustrious collection of Lord Sudeley, Toddington Castle, Gloucestershire (no. 257; Hayward, 1989, p. 78) but the published catalogue does not list the work. On June 25, 1913, William Randolph Hearst purchased the panel from the Galerie Helbing in Munich. He donated the panel to the museum in 1943, and it was accessioned in 1945.

Inventory Number

45.21.32

Bibliography and Sources

Literature

Bremen, W. (1964). Die alten Glasgemälde und Hohlgläser der Sammlung Bremen in Krefeld, Cologne-Graz, 1964.

Hayward, J. (1989). Stained Glass before 1700 in American Collections: Midwestern and Western States. Corpus Vitrearum Checklist III, ed. and intro. Madeline H. Caviness and Jane Hayward (Studies in the History of Art, 28), Washington, 1989.

Hess, D. and Hirschfelder, D. eds. (2010). Renaissance. Barock. Aufklärung. Kunst und Kultur vom 16. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert, Die Schausammlungen des Germanischen Nationalmuseums, vol… More

Image Information

Name of Image

USA_LosAngeles_LACMA_US_12

Credits

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles CA, www.lacma.org
Link to the original photo

Public Domain

Inventory

Reference Number

US_12

Author and Date of Entry

Virginia C. Raguin 2024

Image Ordered

Contact Details