Cushion Cover thumbnail 1
Cushion Cover thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Cushion Cover

ca. 1600-1700 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Leather cushions with stamped decoration highlighted in colours and varnished foil to imitate gilding, were made for church use in many areas of Europe in the seventeenth and eighteent centuries. They could be used as kneelers or for seating. Altar cushions were also made to support the missal (the book containing readings for the Mass) but those were usually of fabric, and made in one of the ecclesiastical colours used at different times of the year. Stamped and 'gilded' leather was made in many centres, especially in Spain, Italy and the Southern Netherlands.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Gilded leather
Brief description
Gilt leather cushion, without filling, with leather tassels on the four corners (one missing). The front is made of gilt leather showing a large rosette in the middle and a flower in each corner. Painted in a red- and green-glaze, and brown. The back is made of damask leather with a diaper pattern. Used either as a kneeler or for seating.
Physical description
Gilt leather cushion, without a filling, with leather tassels on the four corners (one missing). The front is made of gilt leather, showing a large rosette in the middle, enclosing a star-shaped device, and a flower in each corner. Painted in a red- and green-glaze, and brown. Punched with for different stamps. The back is made of damask leather with a diaper pattern: horizontal bands of four pointed stars within squares.
Dimensions
  • Length: 49cm
  • Width: 33.3cm
Original measurements: 13 in x 18 1/4 in.
Object history
Made for use in a church, for the support of the missal (mass book) on the altar. Identical to V&A, museum inventory number 1492-1903. A very similar cushion is in the Deutsches Ledermuseum, Offenbach am Main (Germ.), inventory number 215. There are nine similar, but not identical gilt leather cushions (inventory numbers unknown) in Museo Bardini, Florence. Compare also Northampton Museum of Leathercraft n. 1636-1969

Bought together with museum number 1491-1903 for £3 19s 6d from Messrs. A. Johnson & Sons, 85 Wigmore Street, W., RP T22785/1903.

"Cushion-cover of leather covered with silver foil lacquered to represent gilding, stamped and painted, the back is of plain leather, partly stained. In the centre of the front is a large rosette enclosing a star-shaped device, with a flower on each of the eight points; outside the rosette various designs (almost obliterated) are arranged and the whole is surrounded by a border of feather-shaped stamps. On the back are horizontal bands of four-pointed stars within squares. The corners are finished off with leather tassels (one missing). Spanish; 16th century. Much damaged."

The use of leather cushions in churches at this date is discussed in This style of painting on leather in Chinoiseries style seems to have been a particularity of London makers and is discussed in Jean-Pierre Fournet, Cuirs Dorées, "Cuirs de Courdoue", un art Européen (Château de Saint-Remy-en-l'Eau: 2019), pp. 294-295.
Historical context
See Jean-Pierre Fournet, Les Cuirs Dorés Anciens en France. PhD theses 2004 at the Ecole du Louvre, pp. 337-8 for a note of the tradition of making such cushions in leather. They were often used to support the missal (Mass book) on the altar, during the celebration of Mass.
Summary
Leather cushions with stamped decoration highlighted in colours and varnished foil to imitate gilding, were made for church use in many areas of Europe in the seventeenth and eighteent centuries. They could be used as kneelers or for seating. Altar cushions were also made to support the missal (the book containing readings for the Mass) but those were usually of fabric, and made in one of the ecclesiastical colours used at different times of the year. Stamped and 'gilded' leather was made in many centres, especially in Spain, Italy and the Southern Netherlands.
Collection
Accession number
1490-1903

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest