Heraldic Panel with Arms of Anton von Ramstein

This window is said to come from the church at Lautenback, Germany.  Peter Hemmel made at least 40 windows for the church during the 1470s; these were placed in the church about 1482, and most of windows remain there today.  Hemmel presided over the leading stained-glass workshop of southern Germany, and the numerous windows he exported to other European countries often served as models for other workshops.  This window features a portrait of the kneeling Anton von Ramstein, possibly a patron of the church, dressed in armor and his coat of arms. With the emergence of an affluent middle class in 15th century Germany, stained-glass windows were often commissioned by patrons to demonstrate of their elevated social or political standing.