Two roundels with the saints Sebastian and Anthony, Catherine and Barbara Cologne, late 15th cent. Stained glass Ø 36 cm each Transferred from the Kunstgewerbemuseum (Museum of Decorative Arts), Cologne, in 1930–1932 Cologne, Museum Schnütgen, inv. M 516, M 517 10 Pairs of saints were a popular motif for roundels in many regions. The two intensely colourful roundels, which belong together, each show two male and two female saints in grisaille on a bright red background with tendril ornamentation. The decorative borders are adorned with deep-blue flowers, as well as animal and hunting scenes, in floral tendril ornamentation. This type of border decoration is reminiscent of late medieval manuscripts. The saints can be identified by the symbols associated with them. St. Sebastian in knight’s armour holds a banner with arrows pointing to his martyrdom. A pig, a stick and a bell identify his companion as St. Anthony. Together they were considered the patron saints of protection against the plague. The pig and the cross are also the symbols of the Order of St. Anthony, which cared for the sick and the poor. In return for these services, the Antonines were allowed to let their pigs roam free. The wheel and the sword are the instruments of torture with which St. Catherine was killed. The tower is the symbol of St. Barbara. So far, only the representation of St. Anthony can be traced back to a specific model, a copperplate engraving by Martin Schongauer. However, the somewhat coarse execution of the faces and garments suggests that all the figures were modelled on woodcuts or engravings. From the second half of the 15th century, glass painters increasingly used specific models from their contemporaries for their designs. Both panes were probably made for private use. They were probably commissioned by the patrician family of Mauwenheim in Cologne, whose coat of arms shows two crossed arrows, similar to those on the flag of St. Sebastian. The coat of arms with a pretzel and bread at the feet of St. Catherine refers to the bakers’ guild. The oldest member of the family, already mentioned in a document from 1282, was Heinrich Mauwenheim, a baker. At the time the panes were made, at the end of the 15th century, there was also a daughter named Katharina in the Mauwenheim family. Von Falke/Creutz 1910, 61–62. – Schmitz 1913, vol. 1, 152. – Schnitzler 1936, 60, no. 57. – Lymant 1982, 149–152, nos. 85, 86. – Legner 1991, 309, fig. 208. – Hess 1995, 42–49. – Täube 1998, 52–55, no. 18. – Gliesmann 2007, 151. – Cat. Glanz und Größe 2011, 397, nos. 158, 159 (Dagmar Täube). – Woelk/Beer 2018, 304–305, no. 201 (Karen Straub). Carola Hagnau 64
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