Chasuble
1450-75 (made), 1500-1599 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Spanish shaped chasuble of red silk velvet with green selvedges and applied orphreys of linen canvas embroidered with coloured silks, silver and silver-gilt thread in split, brick, long and short and stem stitches, partially padded with laid and couched work. The shaped neck piece, the panels with shields at the bases of the orphreys and the triple cord gold edging are Spanish additions.
The Cross orphrey depicts the centurion, Longinus, holding an inscribed scroll, Christ crucified with mourning angels and God the Father with the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove.
The front orphrey, from bottom to top, depicts Mary Magdalene with a jar, John the Baptist with a cup and a female saint with a basket, similar in design to the figure of Mary Magdalene.
The shield of arms on the Spanish additions (visible only on the Cross orphrey): quarterly 1-4 vert, three fleurs-de-lis argent, 1 and 2, 2-3 gules a tree, eradicated proper for Sobrarbe Aragon.
The neck piece is decorated with a foliate scroll in coloured silks on a ground of laid gold threads. The chasuble is lined in linen.
The Cross orphrey depicts the centurion, Longinus, holding an inscribed scroll, Christ crucified with mourning angels and God the Father with the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove.
The front orphrey, from bottom to top, depicts Mary Magdalene with a jar, John the Baptist with a cup and a female saint with a basket, similar in design to the figure of Mary Magdalene.
The shield of arms on the Spanish additions (visible only on the Cross orphrey): quarterly 1-4 vert, three fleurs-de-lis argent, 1 and 2, 2-3 gules a tree, eradicated proper for Sobrarbe Aragon.
The neck piece is decorated with a foliate scroll in coloured silks on a ground of laid gold threads. The chasuble is lined in linen.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk velvet, applied linen canvas, embroidered with silk, silver-gilt and gold thread, laid and couched work, gold cord edging, partially padded, lined with linen |
| Brief description | Chasuble of silk velvet with embroidered linen canvas orphreys, England, 1450-75 (orphreys); Spain, 16th century (body) |
| Physical description | Spanish shaped chasuble of red silk velvet with green selvedges and applied orphreys of linen canvas embroidered with coloured silks, silver and silver-gilt thread in split, brick, long and short and stem stitches, partially padded with laid and couched work. The shaped neck piece, the panels with shields at the bases of the orphreys and the triple cord gold edging are Spanish additions. The Cross orphrey depicts the centurion, Longinus, holding an inscribed scroll, Christ crucified with mourning angels and God the Father with the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove. The front orphrey, from bottom to top, depicts Mary Magdalene with a jar, John the Baptist with a cup and a female saint with a basket, similar in design to the figure of Mary Magdalene. The shield of arms on the Spanish additions (visible only on the Cross orphrey): quarterly 1-4 vert, three fleurs-de-lis argent, 1 and 2, 2-3 gules a tree, eradicated proper for Sobrarbe Aragon. The neck piece is decorated with a foliate scroll in coloured silks on a ground of laid gold threads. The chasuble is lined in linen. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Object history | Tassinari and Chatel (silk manufacturer), Lyon, before 1877; Mr and Mrs D. L. Einstein; the Walston family by descent; purchased by the V&A at Christie’s, London, 1978 |
| Associated object | T.46-1914 (Set) |
| Bibliographic reference | Exposition retrospective de Lyon: notice sommaire des objets d’art exposes dans le Palais du Commerce, exhibition catalogue, Lyon, Palais du Commerce. Lyon, 1877
Tattersall, C. E. Cecil, ‘A Set of 16th-Century Vestments’, Burlington Magazine 29 (1916), 49–51, 54–6
King, Donald, Opus Anglicanum: English Medieval Embroidery, exhibition catalogue, London, Victoria and Albert Museum (London, 1963), cat. no. 130
Wetter, Evelin, Mittelalterliche Textilien, vol. iii: Stickerei bis um 1500 und figurlich gewebte Borten, Die Textilsammlung der Abegg-Stiftung 6. Riggisberg, 2012, pp. 173-7
Browne, Clare; Davies, Glyn; Michael, M.A., English Medieval Embroidery: Opus Anglicanum, exhibition catalogue, London, Victoria and Albert Museum (London, 2016) pp. 259-61 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.82-1978 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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