Embroidered Front of an Altar
Unknown Artist
1600s - 1700s
Medium
embroidered satin and silk
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":1.08,"width":2.095}}
Classification
Embroidery
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
Accession Number
1916.901
About this artwork
This spectacular cloth with raised three-dimensional embroidery embellished the front of an altar. Lavishly applied gilt-metal thread creates architectural embellishments enhanced by grand vases displaying sheaves of wheat in the upper corners and bunches of grapes in the center of the fringed over-frontal, referring to the bread and wine of the Mass. The central coat of arms represents the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, a Roman Catholic mendicant order established in 1218 by Saint P...