Chasuble with Orphrey Band
Unknown Artist
1500–1520
Medium
Silk, gold thread, sequins; appliqué, embroidery: couching stitches Velvet: solid pile, silk; embroidery: or nué (shaded gold)
Dimensions
122.5 × 74 cm
Classification
Embroidery
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Walter C. and Alvin W. Littwitz in memory of their father, Max Littwitz
Accession Number
1947.2
About this artwork
The English adopted a simpler style of embroidering vestments suitable for mass production around 1500. Isolated motifs, often floral, were embroidered on plain velvet, as in this ecclesiastical chasuble. The orphrey, or embroidered band, in the center depicts Saints Peter, John the Evangelist, and Andrew, identified by their names and attributes (top to bottom). Most of the surface is covered with gold thread sewn down by silk thread passing over it in different densities to create the effect o...