Dome

Model, detail of the huge traceried windows set in apse of the upper chapel and buttresses surmounted by pinacles, crocketted gables on the roof; The Galerie des Moulages (cast collection) not only contains 19th plaster casts, but also scale models of buildings done by artisans on staff at the museum. The Sainte-Chapelle in Paris was built by Louis IX in his palace on the Ile-de-la-Cité to provide a suitable home for the Crown of Thorns, purchased in 1239 from Baldwin II, Emperor of Constantinople and for other relics obtained in 1241. The chapel was also designed as a place of worship for the royal family. Architecturally, the chapel resembles one of the radiating chapels of Amiens Cathedral, but the enriched decoration on both the interior and the exterior appears to be influenced by contemporary metalwork. It retains one of the most extensive in-situ collections of 13th century stained glass anywhere in the world. Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.oxfordartonline.com/ (accessed 7/23/2012)