Chasuble
Unknown Artist
c 1600–1700
Medium
Silk and gilt metal threads, woven; cut and uncut velvet
Dimensions
106 × 68.3 cm
Classification
Velvet
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
Accession Number
1916.1443.1
About this artwork
This sumptuous polychrome velvet displays a central vase with abundant flora and exotic leaves flanking curving blossoming fronds on a gilt-metal thread ground. The pattern was created with five colors of cut and uncut (loops) velvet pile. Only the pile warps for the lush green velvet occur across the entire cloth, while each additional color appears in vertical stripes—crimson, peach, rose, and purple. These widely acclaimed velvets from Genoa were the most colorful woven in Europe. Both the lo...