Welcome Panel of Jörg Brunnissen
This is a “welcome panel,” a traditional form of Swiss stained glass, often commissioned for placement in a public building, to commemorate a significant life event such as a marriage, birth, or building a new house. The format of the welcome panel, as seen here, was standardized by the early 16th century. In the main body of the panel, a husband and wife stand side by side, the man in armor, the woman offering a ceremonial drinking cup. Panels showing an agricultural scene in the upper register – here a deal being struck for cattle – denote that the family works in farming or a related trade.
The inscription and date on the panel were altered in 1588, possibly to address damages to the panel, or to reflect a new generation of the family. Though it is no longer perfectly legible, the inscription identifies the male figure as Jörg Brunissen. The motto can be roughly translated as “George Brunnisen, drink and eat but don’t forget God. He who can take it all in, sleeps well without sorrow. Enjoy every day, because no one will bring it back to you.”
This panel was one of a dozen purchased by George Gough Booth from an antiques shop in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1922. Six of the panels were given to the Detroit Institute of Arts, two were gifted elsewhere, and four, including this panel, were installed in Cranbrook House. This panel is located in the entryway stairwell.
Mariam Hale
2023-2025 Collections Fellow
Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research
March 2024
Translation by Barbara Giesicke, Galerie Barbara Giesicke, Badenweiler, Germany.
Width: 8 1/2 in (21.6 cm)
ProvenanceLord Sudeley, Toddington Castle, Essex, England (before 1911)
Theodore Fischer, Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, Switzerland (1911-1922)
George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth (1922-1949)
Cranbrook Foundation (1949-1973)
Cranbrook Educational Community (1973-present)
Credit LineCranbrook Center for Collections and Research
Cultural Properties Collection, Founders Collection
Bequest of George Gough Booth and Ellen Scripps Booth through the Cranbrook Foundation
Medium | MaterialsPot metal, white glass with silver stain, and enamel
Inscribed1588 / Jerg Brunissen drinck und J_ gots nitt vergis wer fil / treit schlaft dick on leid / schlaft dick on le__ g gedenck an den dag der [.] den dag nienan wider/ arinen mag
Translation: 1588 / Geroge Brunneissen, drink and eat but don't forget God. He wo can take it all in, sleeps well without sorrow. Enjoy everyday, because no one will bring it back to you.
GenreObject TypeStained-glass windows
Alternate Title(s)
- Heraldic Panel of a Cattle Dealer
Virginia Chieffo Raguin and Helen Jackson Zakin, Stained Glass before 1700 in the Collections of the Midwest States (Corpus Vitrearum: United States VIII). vol 2, London/Turnhout, 2001, pp. 19-64.
Raguin, Virginia. Stained Glass before 1700 in American Collections: Midwest and Western States. Corpus Vitrearum Checklist III, (Studies in the History of Art, 28), Washington DC, 1989, pp. 151-155.
