Saint Martin and Saint Hilary
Unknown Artist
1430–35
Medium
Linen plain weave underlaid with linen plain weave (two layers) and embroidered with silk and gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk in single satin, split, and stem stitches, laid work, and couching, including or nué
Dimensions
Diameter (above measurement of mount opening): 6 1/2 in. (16.5cm)
Classification
Textiles-Ecclesiastical
Culture
Flemish
Department
Robert Lehman Collection
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Robert Lehman Collection, 1975
Accession Number
1975.1.1908
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite embroidered roundel, *Saint Martin and Saint Hilary hails from Flanders around 1430–35, a golden age for Northern Renaissance textiles. Crafted by an unknown artist, it depicts two revered male saints—likely Martin of Tours, patron of soldiers and the poor, and Hilary of Po, a champion against heresy—rendered in a compact 6½-inch diameter. As part of the ecclesiastical textiles in the Met's Robert Lehman Collection, it would have adorned liturgical vestments or altar furnishings, evoking devotion during Mass. The artwork's brilliance lies in its sophisticated mixed-media constr...