Standesscheibe

A Standesscheibe is a kind of stained glass, presented with the full coat of arms, made by the canton of the Old Swiss Confederacy. It is sometimes arranged in a complete armorial of all cantonal coats of arms of Switzerland. A standessheibe is an example of a wappenscheibe, a coat of arms depicted in a stained glass window.

The usage of Standessheibe became fashionable in 1485 along with the Swiss illustrated chronicles. This was as a result of an increased national pride due to recent victories in the Burgundian Wars.

In 1501, a full set of cantonal Standesscheiben, made by Lukas Zeiner of Zürich, were presented to the hall of the Swiss diet in Baden.

The trend of Standesscheiben usage remained alive in Switzerland throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, and to some extent continued in the 19th and early 20th centuries with the coats of arms of the cantons of modern Switzerland.

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