roundel

This stained glass roundel shows a young man in a courtyard picking grapes from a vine and placing them in a bucket made from a half-barrel. The scene is surrounded by a clear glass circular frame of delicate scrolling leaves with yellow-painted flowers. Originally it was one of a series of twelve roundels representing the Labours of the Months – the rural activities associated with particular months of the year. Eight of the series survive; four of them now in the collection of Norfolk Museums Service. Two are in the Victoria and Albert Museum (‘Sitting by the Fire’ and ‘Bathing’) and two are in a private collection (‘Mowing’ and ‘Harvesting’).

The Labours of the Months was a popular subject for manuscript illumination, paintings, sculpture and stained glass for both sacred and secular settings in Britain and Europe. Grape picking is a common subject of ‘labours’ and here probably represents the month of September, although in other parts of Europe the grape harvest occurs earlier. During the medieval period, England was known for grape growing and wine making – at the end of the 11th century there were around 50 vineyards in southern England making wine, mainly for the Church for use at Mass. The ‘little ice age’ of the mid-1500s sharply reduced the English grape harvest and the English winemaking industry declined. These roundels were probably made in the 1520s, just before that decline occurred.

The outstanding artistry of these roundels lies in their delicate painting. The finely painted details of faces and landscapes bring the compositions to life. Some of the individual panes of glass which make up each roundel are stained, like this labourer’s green tunic. Other portions, like the patterned borders, are painted in yellow and black onto colourless ‘white’ glass. The artist has also scratched through the paint, as seen here in the brickwork and steps. This creates a very fine line and adds to the naturalism and three-dimensional effect.

As a group, the roundels exhibit elegance and sophistication both in their composition and use of the circular space. The colour palette is harmonious with elements of golden yellow, green, blue and red repeated across the series to visually tie the scenes together. The faces are rendered with great character, and the figures show a strong Flemish influence in their high degree of naturalism. This is characteristic of Norwich-made glass at the beginning of the sixteenth century, at which point increasing awareness was shown of artistic influences from the Low Countries. It is possible that the roundels may have been produced by a Netherlandish glass painter. Glass makers from the Low Countries are known to have worked in Norwich. John Wattok was a Flemish glass painter active in Norwich from about 1495 to 1540. Some stylistic similarities may be discerned between the Labours of the Months and the portraits of donors from the windows of similar date in St Mary’s Church, Shelton, south Norfolk, which may also have been painted by Wattok.

These roundels were made at a time of economic growth in Norwich, increased political stability and a corresponding increase in consumer spending. Stained glass was an expensive luxury which appealed to the growing number of successful merchants who were keen to display their wealth and status through decorating their homes.

The roundels were probably commissioned by Thomas Pykerell, a prosperous merchant of the Mercer’s Company, who became Sheriff in 1513 and was elected Mayor in 1525, 1533 and 1538. He is thought to have built his house in Rosemary Lane around the end of the fifteenth century. The antiquary John Kirkpatrick (d.1728) described Pykerell’s house as having one large window with roundels of the 12 months of the year and the other window ‘in every pane a curious picture’ representing biblical and historical figures.

Whilst it cannot be proved beyond doubt that these roundels were made for Pykerell, John Kirkpatrick’s description of Pykerell’s house proves that a set of Labours of the Months existed there. John Wattok, the glass maker is known to have lived near Pykerell in the same part of the city and at the right date. Although it is not certain that these roundels were made by John Wattok for Thomas Pykerell, the evidence suggests that this may have been the case.

Pykerell’s rise to prominence as Mayor of Norwich also occurs within exactly the right date range for the roundels’ manufacture. Pykerell had work done to update his house around 1525, the year of his first election to the mayoralty. Possibly he was celebrating this event, with the corresponding increase in his professional status and personal prestige. If so, he could have commissioned the stained glass roundels at the same time to show off his wealth and new status. High quality roundels of this kind are what one would expect in the home of a wealthy merchant of Pykerell’s standing.

Pykerell’s house became a pub in the 19th century and was bombed during the Second World War. It has since been restored and is now a home again. The original medieval-style great hall was divided laterally into two by the addition of a floor in the seventeenth century, but the top half of the large original windows, where the glass roundels would have been installed, can still be seen.