Piece

Art Historical Context

This exquisite fragment of velvet, titled simply *Piece*, hails from mid-15th-century Italy, likely produced in the bustling textile hubs of Venice or Genoa Measuring 34½ x 11 inches, it woven from luxurious silk and shimmering metal threads, exemplifying the opulence of Renaissance decorative arts. Displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's European Sculpture and Decorative Department (acquired via the Fletcher Fund 1946), its classification as a textile-velvet highlights the era's mastery in creating sumptuous fabrics for elite clothing, ecclesiastical vestments, and interior furnishings....