Not on display

Lampas Band

1450-1500 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The German city of Cologne was one of the main producers of colourful woven bands like this one during the 15th and 16th centuries. The bands were intended for church use. They were often used as orphreys and could also be used as borders for altar-cloths and hangings. (An orphrey is a decorative strip applied to one of the various types of church vestments, the ceremonial garments worn for services.) They were relatively mass-produced, because they were woven on a mechanical loom. They were thus cheaper than embroideries, which had to be made by hand. This example includes silver-gilt thread and has quite a complicated pattern, which suggests that it might have been at the top of the range of such textiles. German ecclesiastical textiles at this time, both embroidered and woven, favoured the inclusion of Christian inscriptions. These were in Latin, written in striking Gothic letters. Here the words ‘ihesus’ (Jesus) and ‘maria’ (an allusion to the Virgin Mary) are used.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Weft-faced compound twill weave with silk and silver-gilt thread
Brief description
Band, part of the border of an altar cloth
Physical description
Part of border of alter cloth depicting stylistic trees bearing fruit and fleur-de-lis.
Dimensions
  • Length: 42cm
  • Width: 11cm
Subject depicted
Summary
The German city of Cologne was one of the main producers of colourful woven bands like this one during the 15th and 16th centuries. The bands were intended for church use. They were often used as orphreys and could also be used as borders for altar-cloths and hangings. (An orphrey is a decorative strip applied to one of the various types of church vestments, the ceremonial garments worn for services.) They were relatively mass-produced, because they were woven on a mechanical loom. They were thus cheaper than embroideries, which had to be made by hand. This example includes silver-gilt thread and has quite a complicated pattern, which suggests that it might have been at the top of the range of such textiles. German ecclesiastical textiles at this time, both embroidered and woven, favoured the inclusion of Christian inscriptions. These were in Latin, written in striking Gothic letters. Here the words ‘ihesus’ (Jesus) and ‘maria’ (an allusion to the Virgin Mary) are used.
Collection
Accession number
1349-1864

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 createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest