Glass representations of power

Stained glass panes are regarded as images and signs of status. They were incorporated into the glazing of churches, town halls and private houses as well as into the rooms of residences, palaces, and castles. The panes were also used as a sign of affinity between family members or princely houses.

Coat-of-arms panels are found particularly frequently in the aristocratic sphere. Even though the term German term "Stifterscheibe" roughly translated as "monastery pane" refers more to the sacred realm, it is nevertheless used as a generic term for more secular painted glass windows.

The panes shown here, representative of the collection of the Historischer Verein Neuburg, depict the coat of arms of Duke Albrecht V of Bavaria (1528-1579, ruled from 1550), that of Charles I of Palatinate-Zweibrücken-Birkenfeld (1560-1600, ruled from 1569) and that of Johann Georg of Werdenstein (1542-1608).

Glass tankards, confectionery bowls and so-called imperial eagle glasses also belong to this prestigious category. A family tankard like the one pictured can be regarded as a genealogical source. Between the gold bands and the dot and line decoration, Oswalt Heubla is depicted in polychrome enamel painting with his wife Barbara and their four children Hane, Nicolaus, Egidius and Eva.

Coats of arms associated with alliances are often found on the occasion of marriages of nobles. In this case, the heraldry also speaks of marriage or marriage coats of arms. The coat of arms of the male spouse is always heraldically on the right, i.e., visually on the left. The tazza shown here, a confectionery bowl, was probably made on the occasion of the 25th wedding anniversary of Christoph Behaim (1562-1624) and Clara Tucher (c. 1564/65-1632).

The purple glass with a diamond-engraved imperial eagle and floral decoration is intended to express the owner's attachment to the empire. Woodcuts and copper engravings often served as models for such glass.