Decorative Arts

Stained & Painted Glass

Stained glass is a medium mostly associated with religious buildings but is also found in secular locations. Since it began as an architectural inclusion around the 9th century, it has evolved to follow art movements and social trends as well as challenging established ideas. Fine examples can be found throughout the south-west, particularly Alloway, Ayr, Ardrossan, Kilmarnock, Largs, Peebles and Skelmorlie.

From the 16th century, new techniques of decorating glass was established with the artist painting on the glass like a canvas rather than the traditional stained glass technique joining coloured glass together with lead. This filtered down from being an architectural feature in the windows of religious and secular buildings to becoming a technique for decorating glass on vessels for holding alcohol.