Orphrey of a chasuble, embroidered in coloured silks and silver-gilt and silver thread on linen.

Cross-orphrey from a chasuble, embroidered in coloured silks and silver-gilt and silver thread on linen; split and satin stitches with couched work.

The upright is divided into five panels, each having two figures beneath Gothic arches supported by pillars; at the top is the Annunciation; beneath are St Paul and St Peter; beneath them are two sets of two figures represent Apostles, holding books, and at the bottom are two crowned female saints, one with a book, and the other with a book and a cross (they are incomplete, the orphrey having been cut down). On the left arm of the cross is the Coronation of the Virgin, and on the right arm are two female saints with books.

The background is worked with floral stems in silver-gilt thread, and the edges are decorated with crosses on both sides, and foliage. At the top of each panel is an angel with a scroll bearing the name of one of the nine orders of angels. The following are decipherable: SERAFINI, CERVBINI, POTESTAtes ArCanGIOLi AnGiOlO.

Bought from Monsieur Louis de Farcy (1841-1921), 3 Parvis St Maurice, Angers, France, for £59-10s along with 593-693-1898 (100 pieces in total) for 10,000 francs (£396 13s 5 d). Originally made for a cope, but later cut to fit a chasuble.

Attention had first been drawn to the collection in March 1898 at which point the embroideries were in Brussels at Musée des Arts Décoratifs. The Museum requested it be sent on approval. (6 April). They were all sewn on two rolls of brown fabric (3 x 2 metres), identified by place of origin, along with some pieces that the Museum did not want to buy. The original asking price for the whole collection was 30,000 francs (£1200). De Farcy wrote to the museum on 26 June expressing his pleasure: 'Cependant je me réjouis à la pensée de savoir mes broderies, que j'ai eu tant de peine à collectionner, trouver un honorable asile auprès des merveilles, que votre Musée possède déjà.' He also noted that he had many other pieces that were much less easy to transport and listed them. Correspondence with de Farcy continued for some years.

(RP 23897/1898, 89768/1898, 30355/1898)

Historical significance: Significant as a relatively rare survival of ecclesiastical embroidery of this period and region.

Orphreys
The use of decorative bands over seams can be traced back to the everyday clothing of the first Christians in the late classical period, the clothing from which Medieval ecclesiastical vestments derive. It is thought that they were originally used to cover and strengthen seams (Johnstone, High Fashion in the Church, p. 1). Orphrey bands were usually highly decorative, often created through embroidery, with iconography that related to the life of Christ, and includes images of saints and/or apostles. Sometimes the decoration also incorporates references to the patron who commissioned them. Often the orphreys survive when the original garment to which they were attached has been lost, indeed they were recycled over time as the base fabric wore out. The shape usually reveals which particular vestment they were made for - cope, chasuble or dalmatic. Copes required a single long orphrey, and as one side faced the other when worn, the imagery usually corresponded logically. Cruciform orphreys were used for the back of chasubles, pillar orphreys for the front.

Reason For Production: Commission

Orphreys are decorative bands that are sewn on to ecclesiastical vestments. The use of such bands over seams can be traced back to the everyday clothing of the first Christians in the late classical period. It is thought that they were originally used to cover and strengthen seams.

Often the orphreys survive when the original garment to which they were attached has been lost, indeed they were recycled over time as the base fabric wore out. The shape usually reveals which particular vestment they were made for. Cruciform orphreys were used for the back of chasubles, pillar orphreys for the front.

This imagery is representative of orphreys in general. It depicts the Life of Christ and some of his followers. The Annunciation, the announcement to the Virgin Mary that she would give birth to the son of God, dominates.

620 to B-1898