Orphrey Band: The Tree of Jesse
Unknown Artist
c. 1350
Medium
Silk, gold and silver thread, linen; embroidery: split and couching stitches
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":0.857,"width":0.181},"mounted":{"height":1.092,"width":0.286}}
Classification
Embroidery
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1949.503
About this artwork
From the 1100s to the 1300s in London, both men and women worked as professional embroiderers. Here, the Tree of Jesse, a favorite medieval theme illustrating the ancestry of Christ, appears as a grapevine with three ancestors—Achim, Ezechias, and Eliud—seated on tendrils. Painters often provided embroiderers with designs, revealing a close relationship between the professions.