THE SOWER
Brief description: The Sower, a six panel rectangular window by William Morris and Co of Westminster circa 1920. The panel has a wide border with inscriptions at the top and bottom, and leaves and fruit at the sides. Against a background of blue sky a male figure picks grapes on the left, with a large basket on his back. A sower can be seen in the central foreground, facing right and dressed in a red robe and blue cloak. He sows seeds with his left hand from a basket suspended around his waist. On the right, two birds are flying, distant white-walled city, palm tree on far right.
The Sower is a popular subject, taken from the parable about the spreading of GodÂ’s Word as told by Jesus. Medieval depictions of the Parable are to be found in stained glass windows in Canterbury Cathedral, and the subject was once again popular in the 19th and 20th centuries when stained glass was revived. The horizontal format of this window is unusual in stained glass. Streaky glass has been used to give a colourful appearance. A large border runs around the window with a vine bearing fruit, and an inscription to a former Mayor of Oxford and his mother. This memorial window was formerly installed in St Martin and All Saints' Church, Oxford, now the Library for Lincoln College. William Morris and Company of Westminster Ltd, not to be confused with the well known firm of the same name, were a large family-run stained glass firm active in the late nineteenth century. The firm produced many stained glass windows for buildings in the UK and as far away as Hong Kong. This large stained glass memorial window was erected in St Martin and All Saints' Church, Oxford, which later became the Lincoln College Library. Much streaky glass has been used to give a colourful appearance. The small circular seeds, which fall from the sower's hand, have been painted onto the glass with black pigment. The horizontal and angular arrangement of the blue glass used for the sky is fairly typical of the Arts and Crafts style
Object type: stained glass window
Number of objects: 6
Production date: 1932
Production period: 1930s
Manufacturer: William Morris and Co
Dimensions: Height: 1500 mm, Width: 1890 mm
Inscription: BEQUEATHED IN MEMORY OF HIS MOTHER JANE DRUCE WHO WITH GEORGE CLARIDGE DRUCE D.SC., LLD., F.R.S., ONCE MAYOR OF THIS CITY RESIDED IN THIS PARISH FOR MANY YEARS top and bottom of frame
Acquisition: gift 1974
Acquisition source: Lincoln College
This item is not currently on display and can only be viewed by prior arrangement
Accession number: ELYGM:1974.1.2
