Ruit met 16e en 17e-eeuwse glasscherven afkomstig uit het raam van het Sterfbed van Maria in de Oude Kerk te Amsterdam Possibly 1555 - 1906

Curator: This fascinating artwork at the Rijksmuseum is called "Ruit met 16e en 17e-eeuwse glasscherven afkomstig uit het raam van het Sterfbed van Maria in de Oude Kerk te Amsterdam" which translates to a pane with 16th and 17th century glass shards, sourced from the Deathbed of Mary window in Amsterdam's Old Church. It might date back to as early as 1555 with fragments added later around 1906 and features glass works by Dirck Pietersz. Crabeth. Editor: Wow, that’s quite a mouthful! And seeing all these fragments of colored glass fit together reminds me of scattered puzzle pieces. They're full of secrets, aren’t they? It gives off such a ghostly aura. Curator: The act of compiling disparate pieces highlights the changing use of resources and labor within ecclesiastical spaces across different eras. Notice the leading. It would be crucial for binding glass segments during the period. Editor: Right, almost as vital as an artist piecing together fractured memories. I mean, look at this figure in the center – could that be Mary? She looks distressed, somehow, but radiant too. Or is that just my imagination running wild through the looking glass? Curator: The arrangement allows us to speculate on changing patterns of workshop production and the shifting social value of repurposed materials through periods of iconoclasm and reformation within Dutch history. Editor: So it is kind of miraculous, I suppose. It transforms wreckage into beauty—the story shining through fragmented parts! Makes you wonder what it was like to touch those pieces of glass centuries ago. A portal? Curator: Precisely, thinking about the history that's passed over its surface emphasizes this not just as devotion object but equally a complex material testament of historical process. Editor: This window of time certainly casts a light onto how art isn’t static. These assembled pieces, they still live.