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Window of the Month
Our Lady of Grace, Dearborn Heights, Michigan

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Window

Building Name: Christ Church Cranbrook

City: Bloomfield Hills

Window Shape: 3 (arched)

Subject/Title of Window: Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple; Three Marys at the Tomb

Brief Description of Subject: This window, located in the baptistery, is said to date to the thirteenth century and originate in Amiens, France. It is likely that at least some of the glass dates to other periods; Simeon, for instance, appears to be from a later period.

The window is arranged in two medallions. The lower one depicts the "Presentation of the Infant Jesus at the Temple". Joseph is shown holding a basket of doves --- the prescribed offering for the Presentation. The Virgin Mary is handing the infant Jesus to Simeon who will raise the child above his head and proclaim that he has now seen the Messiah. The upper medallion is "The Three Marys at the Tomb". The Gospels differ on who and how many Mary's actually came to the tomb on the first Easter. Below the tomb is seen three sleeping Roman guards dressed in Medieval armor. The arrangement of the figures is similar to that in a painting attributed to Hubert Van Eyck called "The Three Marys at the Tomb" c. 1410; the angel sitting on the tomb is nearly identical.

This is an unusual juxtaposition of scenes on the medallions in an iconographic sense; it is possible that it is a later reconstruction of fragments from two different windows or two medallions salvaged from a much larger window.

Condition of Window: poor

Height: 6.75'

Width: 21.5"

Type of Glass and Technique: Antique or Cathedral Glass, Lead Came

Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple/Three Marys at the tomb
Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple/Three Marys at the tomb
Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple/Three Marys at the tomb, top
Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple/Three Marys at the tomb, top
Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple/Three Marys at the tomb, bottom
Presentation of Infant Jesus at the Temple/Three Marys at the tomb, bottom

The MSGC is a constantly evolving database. Not all the data that has been collected by volunteers has been sorted and entered. Not every building has been completely documented.

All images in the Index are either born-digital photographs of windows or buildings or are scans of slides, prints, or other published sources. These images have been provided by volunteers and the quality of the material varies widely.

If you have any questions, additions or corrections, or think you can provide better images and are willing to share them, please contact donald20@msu.edu