Roundel with Mary of Egypt crossing the Jordan

Art Historical Context

This delicate roundel, created around 1525 in the South Netherlands, captures a pivotal moment from the legend of Saint Mary of Egypt. The scene shows the former desert ascetic crossing the Jordan River, guided or witnessed by angels—a story that highlighted themes of repentance and divine grace for viewers in the early sixteenth century. Crafted from colorless glass with vitreous paint and silver stain, the circular panel would have glowed with warm golden tones when light passed through it, a technique that allowed artists to achieve luminous effects without the heavy leading of traditional stained-glass windows. As a product of South Netherlandish workshops, the roundel reflects the period’s growing taste for intimate, narrative glass pieces suited to smaller churches, chapels, or even private homes. Its modest size—just over nine inches across—made it ideal for such settings, where it could serve both as devotional aid and decorative art. Today in the Metropolitan Museum’s Cloisters collection, it offers a vivid glimpse into the religious storytelling that shaped daily spiritual life in Renaissance-era Flanders and Brabant.