## Facts

- Importers acting for the Convent of the Sacred Heart (Philadelphia) entered stained-glass window material depicting saints and Biblical scenes as “paintings upon glass.”
- The articles consisted of colored glass pieces cut into shapes and joined by lead strips, intended to be assembled and installed as church windows.
- For display, the assembled panels were placed inside a window frame and backed by ordinary white glass to transmit light.
- The work was created by highly trained artists and was designed for religious instruction and edification.
- The importation arrived in fragments, not as fully assembled windows.
- The customs collector classified the importation under Tariff Act of 1890 paragraph 122 as “stained or painted window glass and stained or painted glass windows,” assessing a 45% ad valorem duty.
- The importers protested, claiming duty-free entry under paragraph 677 for “paintings” imported in good faith for a religious institution and not intended for sale.
- The Board of General Appraisers upheld the collector; the circuit court reversed and allowed free entry; the United States appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether painted stained-glass church windows (imported in fragments to be assembled) are “paintings” entitled to duty-free entry for religious use under paragraph 677 of the Tariff Act of 1890.
2. Whether such articles are instead “stained or painted window glass” or “stained or painted glass windows” dutiable at 45% under paragraph 122.
3. How the structure of the tariff schedules and prior tariff practice inform the meaning of “paintings” in the 1890 Act.

## Decision

- The Supreme Court reversed the circuit court.
- The Court held the importation was properly classified under paragraph 122 as stained or painted window glass/windows, subject to a 45% ad valorem duty.
- The Court rejected treatment of the articles as duty-free “paintings” under paragraph 677, despite their artistic quality and religious purpose.
- The Board of General Appraisers’ result (and the collector’s classification) was effectively reinstated.

## Legal Principles

- Tariff terms are construed in context of the statutory scheme and prior tariff acts, not solely by literal description.
- When an article fits both a general category (e.g., “paintings”) and a specific enumerated category (e.g., “stained or painted window glass/windows”), the specific provision controls.
- Articles combining artistic workmanship with utilitarian or structural function are classified by their commercial identity and intended use when Congress has specifically provided for that class.
- A religious-use, good-faith, non-sale exemption applies only if the importation first qualifies within the exempted statutory category.

## Conclusion

Painted stained-glass panels intended to be assembled and installed as church windows are not “paintings” for purposes of the religious-institution free-list provision; they fall within the specific tariff heading for stained or painted window glass/windows and are dutiable at 45% under the Tariff Act of 1890.


United States v. Perry, 146 U.S. 71 (1892)