Heraldic Roundel with Arms of the Canton of Zürich (1593): Art, History and Details

Heraldic Roundel with Arms of the Canton of Zürich (1593) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Hans Rütter (Swiss, 1550–1610).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The large shield at center incorporating the double eagle (insignia of the Holy Roman Empire) is surrounded by thirty small shields-those of the wards of the city of Zurich. In the late 1400s, it was customary for neighboring Swiss towns and cantons to exchange panels of stained glass to promote closer political relationships.

Object facts

• Title: Heraldic Roundel with Arms of the Canton of Zürich
• Date: 1593
• Creator attribution: Hans Rütter (Swiss, 1550–1610)
• Culture: Switzerland, Zurich, late 16th Century
• Type: Glass
• Technique: white glass with silver stain and pot metal
• Dimensions: Diameter: 45.1 cm (17 3/4 in.)
• Collection: Decorative Arts
• Department: Decorative Art and Design
• Accession number: 1955.71

A detail from the museum

The coats-of-arms of 31 different Swiss towns and provinces are shown in the outer ring of this stained glass roundel. If you look closely, you can see flowers, lions, and a unicorn. What symbols would you choose for your own coat-of-arms?

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.