Jesus Christ was born into the world by the
virgin Mary. He became a man like us, so that we may have eternity with God in
Him.
Mary was specially chosen by God. The birth of
the Son of God was especially revealed to Mary by an angel. Stained glass of
Mary with the Mandorla of the children of Jesus is the oldest stained-glass
window in the Riga Cathedral.
The centre of the stained-glass window
features the Mother of God with the Little Christ on the crescent. Six angels
enclose the figures: two hold a large queen’s crown over the Virgin’s head, the
next two take off Mary’s cloak but the last pair hold the crescent, kneeling at
the Virgin’s feet.
The stained-glass window shows a description
from the Bible, The book of the Revelation 12:1. Representatives of the
Tiesenhausen family’s different generations are among the worshippers of Mary.
The eldest is Bishop Albert’s vassal, Knight of the Order of the Brothers of
the Sword Engelbrecht von Tiesenhausen. He points his right hand towards the
worshipping descendants – Reinhold Tiesenhausen and his brother’s grandson
Count Johann Przezdziecki kneeling at the ancestors’ tomb. The upper part of
the stained-glass window depicts an angel sitting on a throne and holding a
scroll with the text GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO [GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST]. The
lower part features the coats of arms of the Plater-Sieberg, Tiesenhausen and
Przezdziecki families. Stained-glass is a vivid example of the highest
achievements of stained-glass art in Western Europe in the the end of the 19th
century.
Commissioner: Countess Maria Przezdziecka
(b. von Tiesenhausen). Commissioned in October 1883. Dedicated to her brother
Reinhold Tiesenhaus – the last descendant of the Tiesenhausen family’s Polish
branch.
Drawing: architect Georg Werner (1851–1920)
Created: at Mayer Königliche Bayerische
Hofkunstanstalt in Munich, 1884.
Material: Painted glass and lead,
Size: 700 x 285 cm. Conservation: During World
War II removed and placed in the cellar. Restored in 1962; restorer: Alfreds
Lilientals (1886–1980), pedagogue of Riga Secondary School of Applied Arts,
together with his students. Glass fragments from the south-side stained glass
panels were used in the restoration. In 2011–2012 restored by Andris Klavnieks.