Peace and Industry
Probably Zurich, unknown artist/unknown workshop, around 1880–1890
Colourless, green, red, and yellow glass, enamel paint, blue, yellow, orange and red cameo glass etched from back and front. Painted on the front with schwarzlot, leading.
In light (each window): H 170 cm, W 52 cm; with frame: H 182 cm, W 129 cm
Sammlung Fritz Dold, Zurich, VMR 281
The window casement on the left depicts the personification of “industry”. This identification is inscribed on the tablet in her right hand: In the centre, which is decorated with ornaments, letters are etched into the glass from the front, so that they can only be seen in certain lighting conditions and from certain angles. With her other attributes – the compass and the protractor – the figure refers to characteristic activities of industry. In her hair she wears a laurel wreath with red berries, which is usually an expression of victory. Her gaze – calm and self-confident – is directed at the companion figure on the right side.
The figure on the right casement represents peace. It is recognised by the winged staff of peace, also called the staff of Hermes. The staff goes back to a mythological story from antiquity, according to which Hermes was given a staff by Apollo and used it to separate two fighting and intertwined serpents, whereupon it became the symbol of peace. The olive branches in her hair are also considered a sign of peace. The word “treaty” can be read at the very top of the paper scroll, meaning a peace treaty or an agreement in general. This is followed by a few illegible lines. At the bottom right of the treaty, either “Staufen” or “Staufer” can be deciphered, written in the Kurrent script used until the beginning of the 20th century. It is uncertain whether this refers to a town or a person’s name, for example.
The two allegories are related to the political-unionising achievements of the labour movement at the end of the 19th century. The peace treaty could be directly related to the introduction of the so-called Factory Act of 1877 in Switzerland: At that time, against the resistance of many industrialists, the electorate narrowly approved a federal law that restricted the autonomy of entrepreneurs. Even more important, however, was the regulatory protection of workers, as the law, for example, limited daily working hours to 11, prohibited the employment of children under the age of 14 and obliged factory operators to accept liability in the event of accidents. With this federal law, Switzerland became a pioneer of workers’ rights in international comparison. However, it is also conceivable that the undated glass painting refers to the introduction of Workers’ Day in 1890. Figuratively speaking, the labour movement achieved its (temporary) peace through this law.