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How a stained glass window was done at home

Published on 3 February 2021

Christ's stained glass window welded at the priory

For the second time, our master glassmaker, Paul Challan Belval, came to visit us. During 3 weeks he was at work…

The dream come true

This time, the drawings had become reality! The stained glass window of the Virgin and Child and the Angel Gabriel arrived all assembled, well packed in wooden cases. But the most spectacular thing was to see the assembly of the stained glass window of Christ before our eyes. The conference room with view on the church, which will receive this stained glass window, was transformed for a few days into a workshop. It is there that we began the steps of assembling a large circular stained glass window which will be placed behind and above the altar of our church.

The stained glass window of Christ

The stained glass arrived in pieces, well packed and protected, they also arrived in a wooden case. There were still many steps to form the final result:
Each piece being already cut out, it was now necessary to put them all together like a giant puzzle so that each one could take its place in the work. Small annotations were there to help: 1, 2, 3…, right arm, left arm, dextera, senestra (in Latin please), etc.

Soldering preparation

The second step was to crimp each piece with a copper strip to prepare for welding. This was patiently done by our volunteers. Then, to prepare for the tin to adhere, a layer of stripping oil had to be applied to the copper strips. Finally, the tin soldering will take place. It must be done on both sides of the stained glass. The glassmaker, patiently, soldered each piece, one after another with each other and Jesus let it be done to him (15 hours of soldering).

Now the stained glass is waiting for the chapel to be ready to receive it.
Paul Challan Belval must be back shortly before the inauguration to preside over the installation. (He is the one who knows the strengths and weaknesses of his stained glass to place it without breaking it).

Technically

The beauty of our stained-glass windows is due, among other things, to the quality of the antique glasses that have been chosen: mouth-blown in the traditional way, they are tinted by the salts and various crystals introduced into the molten glass.

Concretely, this also means that each piece had to be ground to rectify the edges. Indeed, the antique glasses will have very varied thicknesses ranging from 2 to 7mm, they will be cut according to each pattern and then, the incised glass will be opened by hand, so there are shards, facets and overflowing cuts …

As for the mounting, you probably knew that stained glass windows are traditionally fixed with lead. But the technique chosen for the assembly of each of the stained glass windows in our chapel will be copper crimping. In this technique invented by Louis Comfort Tiffany at the dawn of the 20th century, thin strips of copper (a quarter of a millimeter) are stuck on the perimeter of each glass. Thus each glass crimped will find its neighbor, and the tin soldering bringing together the copper will unite the pieces.

Finally, another technique that allows the beauty to shine through in the details of the stained glass is the glass paint that is applied before firing. It is composed of metallic oxides, which will be incrusted into the glass during firing and will bring out the face, hands and other details of the body of Christ.

Numbers

Not to mention all the hours of research, drawing and glass cutting…
The assembly of this stained glass in Addis, represents :

  • 7 hours of unpacking and arrangement of the pieces
  • 200 pieces of glass (from the largest to the smallest)
  • a diameter of 1.40 meters
  • 6 hours of grinding
  • 24 hours of tin crimping (counting Foucauld and Jean-Désiré’s hours)
  • 15 hours of welding (including 3 hours of brass strapping)
  • and 1 hour of cleaning with sawdust.

Meaning

The words written in Amharic around the cross are Jesus’ words to Mary and John from the top of the Cross: “Behold your Son”, “Behold your mother” (Jn 19:26-27).
The presence of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ offering to his Father is expressed by the presence of the Dove above the Cross. “He gave up his Spirit” (Jn 19:26-27).Finally, the decorative motifs surrounding the cross itself are inspired by Ethiopian religious art.

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