Description/    

This stained glass window has four panels separated by a supporting metal frame. The frame, also called “barlotière,” was originally to be affixed directly into the masonry. The assembled panels show a great hunting scene with hounds taking place in a rocky landscape. The scene is occupied by five people dressed in breeches and tunics, according to medieval custom. The first panel is occupied by a crouched page, holding two menacing-looking dogs with a leash. This page is dressed in a deep blue tunic, wearing a cream-colored hat and purple stockings. Dogs seem to be a kind of hound or labradors, breeds of choice for hunting. At left, a third dog is about to stop the escape of a deer.

The second panel is largely occupied by two men on their horses. The right man seems to be a wealthy squire, wearing a plumed hat and dressed in a purple tunic embroidered and trimmed with a golden braid. He holds a spear in his left hand and wears long spurs. His horse is harnessed according to medieval custom. The man on the left is also mounted on horseback and he is about to pierce a deer trying to escape with his spear. On the far right are two characters also mounted on horseback: a young girl and another page. An anachronism is that this girl is dressed in the same way as the men, that is to say, with a tunic and breeches. The background opens to the sky.

This glass is of high artistic quality, thanks to the many details in the drawing. Thus one distinctly sees the beards and wrinkles of the squires or the fine embroidery of the red tunic. Similarly, the bright colors demonstrate a deep knowledge of production techniques.

By 1850 in France, the art of stained glass was reborn after a period of decline in seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Thus several glassmakers, like Chenavard and Alaux, brought it back to life. The Mauméjean family places itself in this revival of stained glass. Pierre-Jules Mauméjean (1837-1909), a native of Pau, creates a workshop of stained glass and mosaics there in 1860 after receiving an education in drawing. He created many workshops in the south of France and also in Spain, Madrid, Barcelona and San Sebastian. On the death of Jules-Pierre, his three sons, Joseph, Henry and Charles took over and expanded the business under the name "SA Mauméjean Brothers." So one might date the creation of this window to that time or after 1909. The workshops set up in Hendaye were managed by Joseph, while Henri was in charge of Spanish workshops and Charles of those in the north, notably Paris. The workshops in Hendaye were destroyed first in 1927 and again in 1936, marking the end of this workshop.

The company Mauméjean was present at all the major exhibitions in France and in Europe. It accumulated the honors and awards including World's Fairs . It was responsible for more than five hundred creations, notably for churches and hospitals. It also made many mosaics of the carrying of the cross.