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Home > Building > Architecture > Stained-Glass Windows
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The Chapel’s 77 stained-glass windows were designed and composed
by G. Owen Bonawit, of New York, working with fifteen other artists
and craftsmen. The Chapel’s windows depict every major scene
in the Bible and contain an estimated 800 to 900 figures, including
301 larger-than-life-sized figures in the chancel and transept windows.
The largest window measures 17-1/2 by 38 feet. All of the ruby and
most of the blue glass was made in the United States, and the glass
of other colors was imported from Europe.
Although most of the windows are in the style typical of mid-Gothic
French cathedrals, with stylized figures and bright colors, the
Chapel also contains examples of painted white-glass windows and
intricate lead pattern work on plain glass. The Chapel’s
windows employ traditional symbolism in design and color, identifying
saints and other figures with characteristic attributes. Duke
Chapel reportedly was the first building in the United States
with windows depicting all of the major stories from both the
Old and New Testaments.
After 75 years’ exposure to the elements, the lead holding
together some of the Chapel’s stained-glass windows has
weakened, causing the glass to bulge and endangering the windows.
Follow this link for information about the window restoration
project now under way.
Windows Restoration
Overview
Scaffolding inside and outside of the Chapel is a sign that restoration
work on the clerestory windows is under way. The window most recently
restored is the Melchizadek window, the third on the left as one
enters from the narthex. This is the fourth window to be restored;
the first three windows restored were the Adam, Tobit, and Noah
windows.
The Problem
Weather affects stained glass windows, as temperature changes
cause the lead to expand and contract. In particular, the difference
in temperature between the inside and outside of the building
causes the strips of lead to expand and contract by different
amounts on the two sides of each window. After many seasons, the
lead weakens, and the glass begins to bulge. If the affected windows
were left unattended, the glass would eventually fall out.
In 1991, it was discovered that three of the stained-glass windows
were leaking. A local contractor did repair work to stop the leaks,
but the University recognized that the windows needed further
attention. Stained-glass artisan Dieter Goldkuhle, of Reston,
Virginia, was contracted in 1993 to make a survey of the windows’
condition.
Goldkuhle found many problems with the upper windows. He noted
that the original lead used to construct the windows was very
thin, and that the most significant problem was tearing of the
lead. Several of the clerestory windows had multiple tears, and
the deterioration was particularly bad on the south side of the
Chapel, where the windows are more exposed to the weather. There
were signs of deterioration as far back as the 1970s and 1980s,
when small bars had been soldered in place across the panes to
keep them from moving. This prevented significant damage to the
windows, but was not a long-term solution.
Once the survey was completed, in 1993, Goldkuhle was given a
pilot project to restore the Ruth and Naomi windows in the narthex.
The success of this restoration led the University to develop
plans to restore all sixteen clerestory windows, one per year.
The Artisan
Dieter Goldkuhle was originally from Weidenbrück, Germany,
from a family of commercial glass tradesmen. After completing
a three-year apprenticeship as a young man, he received a Stained
Glass Artisan diploma from the State Glassmaking School in Rheinbach.
In 1962, he moved to the United States and started working in
New York City, and in 1966, he relocated to Reston, Virginia.
A well-respected artisan, Goldkuhle has restored over 90 windows,
including several stained-glass windows at the Washington National
Cathedral. His wife, Martina Norelli, handles the administrative
side of the business and comes to the job sites with him, and
his son Guido, who is learning the trade, assists with restorations.
Goldkuhle is using traditional techniques to restore the Chapel
windows. Whereas other artisans often restore lead by just strengthening
the corners, Goldkuhle replaces all of the lead. Before the windows
are touched, they are photographed. The panes are then removed
and shipped to Goldkuhle’s shop. The restoration process
entails charting the design, separating the panels, cleaning each
piece of glass, mending any broken pieces, and re-leading the
window. In re-leading the panels, Goldkuhle float-solders them
together, using tin in the solder to prevent a damaging building
up of lead carbonate. The panes are then replaced exactly as they
were before, according to the photographs taken at the beginning
of the process.
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