British artist, Capricorn, 1400s–1500s. Stained glass and lead; 7 7/8 in. (20 cm). Gift of the Berger Collection Educational Trust, 2020.11

diameter: 7 7/8 in, 20.0025 cm; overall diameter: 8 3/8 in, 21.2725 cm; depth: 1/4 in, 0.635 cm

European and American Art Before 1900

European Painting and Sculpture before 1900

Artist not known

Capricorn, 1400s-1500s

Diameter 7 ¾ in. (20 cm)

Glass, lead

Inscribed, Sol in capricorn

Promised Gift of the Berger Collection Educational Trust, TL-18553

This roundel of stained glass contains the zodiac sign for Capricorn, traditionally represented by a mythical creature called a sea goat, which was half goat and half fish. Here the sea goat is shown emerging from a shell. The roundel was created at a time when England was still Roman Catholic. It was likely cut from a church window, possibly to be replaced by an alternate image. The piece could represent an effort to salvage elements from a Roman Catholic church stripped of religious art following Henry VIII’s founding of the Church of England.

Private collection, England; Sarandon Associates, Tortola, British Virgin Islands; from which acquired by William M. B. and Bernadette Berger, Denver, 1997; Berger Collection Educational Trust; gifted to the Denver Art Museum, 2020. Provenance research is on-going at the Denver Art Museum and we will post information as it becomes available. Please e-mail provenance@denverartmuseum.org, if you have questions, or if you have additional information to share with us.