Brief description: Design for a stained glass window made up of one light depicting the baptism of Christ. Designed at the Goddard and Gibbs studio, London
Here, Christ stands, stripped down to a red loincloth, in the River Jordan. His hands are clasped in prayer, and he is nimbed with a cruciform halo. Above him, St. John the Baptist, dressed in a brown tunic and carrying a cross-topped staff, pours water on his head. From the clouds a dove emerges, carrying a eucharistic wafer in its mouth. The dove represents the Holy Spirit (John 1:32). At Christ's feet a whirlpool forms around a scallop shell. Scallop shells are traditionally associated with Christian baptism and are sometimes used to pour the water. There is an inscription at the top of the window. The panel was designed for the east end centre window of the Royal Mineral Water Hospital Chapel in Bath. Goddard & Gibbs, founded from a merger of Walter Gibbs & Sons and Goddard's Glass Works in 1938, were prominent makers of stained glass for the international market and also conserved and restored glass.
Object type: preparatory artworks design
Number of objects: 1
Production date: 1
Production period: 20th century
Designer: Arthur Edward Buss (1905 - 1999)
Manufacturer: Goddard and Gibbs
Dimensions: Height: 185 mm, Width: 85 mm
Inscription: THIS IS MY BELOVED SON IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED
Original location: Royal Mineral Water Hospital Chapel, Bath, Somerset England
Acquisition: gift 18.3.2025
Acquisition source: Ratcliffe, S
This item is not currently on display and can only be viewed by prior arrangement
Accession number: ELYGM:2025.4.23
