Chasuble
1480-1500 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This cloth of gold was among the most expensive fabrics made in 15th-century Italy because of the complexity of its pattern and the expense of its materials. The design process required knowledge of the loom. A draughtsman or painter without any technical knowledge would have been able to draw the design, but that initial design work was converted into a form suitable for weaving either by weavers or by specialist designers who worked under contract to silk firms. They were often affiliated with the silk weaving guilds.
This textile was used for an ecclesiastical vestment, but its design would have been equally appropriate for the clothing of the small percentage of the population sufficiently wealthy to buy it.
This textile was used for an ecclesiastical vestment, but its design would have been equally appropriate for the clothing of the small percentage of the population sufficiently wealthy to buy it.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Lampas weave in silk and silver-gilt thread |
| Brief description | part, woven silk (lampas), satin ground weave, 1480-1510, Florence (Italian); red, yellow and gold |
| Physical description | Two pieces from a chasuble sewn together. Lampas weave, continuous silver-gilt filé and yellow silk pattern wefts tied by a separate binding warp, on a red satin ground (the red ground weave forms the outline of the pattern). The pattern comprises bunches of stylised flowers tied round their stalks with ribbon and set in compartments with mosaic grounds. The effect is almost lace-like. The pattern is symmetrical about a vertical axis. |
| Dimensions |
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| Style | |
| Gallery label | Part of a chasuble
'Cloth of gold'
Italian; 1480 - 1510
This rich textile is an example of the class known as 'cloth of gold' because of the predominance of gold thread in the weave. |
| Object history | Purchased from Franz Bock |
| Summary | This cloth of gold was among the most expensive fabrics made in 15th-century Italy because of the complexity of its pattern and the expense of its materials. The design process required knowledge of the loom. A draughtsman or painter without any technical knowledge would have been able to draw the design, but that initial design work was converted into a form suitable for weaving either by weavers or by specialist designers who worked under contract to silk firms. They were often affiliated with the silk weaving guilds. This textile was used for an ecclesiastical vestment, but its design would have been equally appropriate for the clothing of the small percentage of the population sufficiently wealthy to buy it. |
| Bibliographic reference | Lisa Monnas, Merchants, Princes and Painters. Silk Fabrics in Italian and Northern Paintings 1300-1500. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008, p. 65, fig. 58.
Lisa Monnas, ‘Plentie and Abundaunce’: Henry XVIII’s Valuable Store of Textiles, in: The Inventory of King Henry VIII. Volume II: Textiles and Dress, (ed.) David Starkey, London 2012, pp. 235-294, p. 262, fig. 140. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 8345-1863 |
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| Record created | January 3, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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