International studio (48.1913)

The Gothic Window in the Lawyers Club of New York City

The gothic window in the
LAWYERS’ CLUB OF NEW YORK
CITY
BY G. LELAND HUNTER
Of this window the architect of the building
and of the club, Francis H. Kimball, said: “If it
had been made in the fifteenth century the people
would have bowed down and worshipped it.”
For Mr. Kimball’s admiration there is every
reason. The window is appropriate in plan and
design and texture to the position that it occupies,
and invites comparison with the famous ancient
windows in European cathedrals.
Wonderfully does the window tell the story of
the law—of its growth and development during
the ages, until Roman law and English law—the
laws of Assyria, Egypt, the Roman Republic, the
Roman Empire, the Laws of the Saxons, the
Danes, the Normans—became merged in modern
American Law. It is no mere picture window
vaguely suggesting some ancient allegory or
sacred scene. It is a storied window that reflects
great credit on Mr. Guthrie’s historical researches,
and that is saturated with lore without pedantry.
The captions freely used in the ancient fashion
to describe the different scenes make it easy to
read the meaning of the window. And from the
decorative point of view the captions have been
designed and placed most happily. They are
quite as essential parts of the composition as the
leads and mullions.
The main divisions of the window are three—
the tracery section at the top and two picture
sections below. Each picture section is divided
into seven panels—two groups of three with a
single panel between.
In the tracery at the top of the window the
divine law, that is above all human law, is sym-
bolized by the Mosaic tables of stone, bearing the
Ten Commandments. To the right and left of
these two female figures, one bearing the fasces,
the old Roman sign of magisterial authority, the
other the scourge that was carried ceremonially by
Egyptian monarchs.
The picture panel in the center of the window is
occupied by a conventional tree, bearing several
shields. The largest of these, supported by a
lawyer in green and by an archbishop in ecclesi-
astical costume, pictures the latest development of
the law, and carries the arms of the United States
of America. Below this are the arms of Win-
chester, capital of England under King Alfred,
and Canterbury, the see of Lanfranc, William the

Conqueror’s Italian jurist, who founded the school
in the Abbey of Bee and introduced the Roman
law to the Normans. The other four shields are
those of English barons—the Earl of Hereford,
Simon de Montford, Robert Fitzwalter, Deburgh,
Earl of Kent—leaders in the struggle that won
Magna Charta from King John.
The middle picture panel in the lower row of
seven shows a full-rigged ancient ship with May-
flower on a streamer floating from the masthead.
Under the Pilgrims’ ship, a figure of justice blind-
folded with sword and scales, standing with mail-
covered feet upon the Temple of Justice.
The upper group of three panels on the left pic-
tures Roman law, with Justinian as the central
figure. These panels are enclosed in a frame of
Byzantine character. The details of the picture
are drawn from the mosaics at Ravenna, the coins
of Justinian and a painted ivory in the British
Museum. The Emperor Justinian, in robe of
white and gold, with touches of pure green and
purple in the embroidery, is seated on a throne of
curious design, in his right hand an open scroll, in
his left a basket symbolic of the right of taxation.
On Justinian’s left is Maximian, his chief adviser.
On his right, robed in dark green, the learned
jurist, Tribonian, under whom the Roman laws
were codified. Beside him, in purple robe and
jeweled armor, Belisarius, the victorious general of
many campaigns. Behind him shows the head of
the historian, Procopius. On Justinian’s left,
next to Maximian, John of Cappadocia, finance
minister and pretorian prefect.
The bases of these three picture panels are three
small scenes, illustrating details of Roman law: (i)
Usufruct, by Justinian standing between the
owner seated on the steps of his house and the
holder of the right of usufruct, who is plucking the
fruit of the orchard. (2) Marriage, by Justinian
standing between a man and a woman, holding a
hand of each. (3) Personal liberty, by Justinian
protecting a young man in his rights.
The lower group of three picture panels on the
left shows the origins of Roman law—the laws of
the Assyrians, of the Egyptians and of the Roman
Republic.
Equally interesting is the upper group of three
panels on the right, picturing English law, with
William the Conqueror as the central figure. The
lower group pictures the origins of the English
law—the laws of the Saxons, the Danes and the
Normans.
The window is a liberal education in the history
of the law, as well as an inspiring work of art.

XXXVIII