Chasuble Back with Embroidered Orphrey Band
Unknown Artist
1415–25
Medium
Velvet: cut pile and voided; silk, gold and silver thread: embroidery; split and couching stitches
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":1.222,"width":0.737}}
Classification
Embroidery
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1950.85
About this artwork
The chasuble is the main sleeveless outer vestment worn by priests while officiating during Mass. By the 1400s, the chasuble became highly ornamented with embroidered decorative bands called orphreys, often in the shape of a cross, as seen here. This luxurious Italian example features velvet of three colors with lush pile. In Graz, Austria, it was embellished with a locally embroidered orphrey featuring crowns, haloes, and backgrounds of scenes formed with gold thread. The Virgin and Child, and ...