Apparel from a Dalmatic
Unknown Artist
early 1500s
Medium
Silk, gold and silver thread; embroidery
Dimensions
41.9 × 54.6 cm
Classification
Embroidery
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William J. Robertson
Accession Number
1977.169.b
About this artwork
This lavishly enriched embroidery, known as an apparel, is part of a set that originally embellished a dalmatic, an ecclesiastical garment, one on the front above the hem and another on the back. Gold and silver thread form the striking strapwork, or interlaced scrolls, of blossoms and leaves. The variety of stitches would have made the embroidery sparkle in low light levels, such as in a candlelit church. Some are worked in straight lines, others in curved contours, while still others crea...