The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus: A Stained-Glass Depiction of a Centuries-Old Legend

Two works of art in the collection of Glencairn Museum represent the only known stained-glass depiction of the centuries-old legend of the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus, which reaches back to the days of Edward the Confessor. In this video Dr. Michael Cothren, Glencairn’s Consultative Curator of Medieval Stained Glass, gives us an in-depth look at these stained-glass panels, which were purchased by Raymond Pitcairn at the 1921 auction of the medieval stained-glass collection of Henry C. Lawrence.
For more information on the research done by Dr. Cothren on these thirteenth-century Seven Sleepers of Ephesus panels, and the path they took from creation to present day, see his article on the subject in this 2019 issue of Glencairn Museum News: bit.ly/3afpnGk