Front of a chasuble

Unknown

16th century · Velvet · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This garment is almost certainly a dealer's composite object, assembled towards the end of the nineteenth century to meet the demands of the lively antiques' market. Though resembling a priestly chasuble, it is unconventionally large and combines a very low quality, thin and relatively modern, patched velvet with a much older set of embroideries. The embroideries have been very heavily restored, indeed the saint figures (Saints Paul and Barbara on the front; the Virgin Mary, Saints Peter and Lucy on the reverse) may have been cut out of a historic textile and reapplied onto modern, embroidered niches designed in pastiche Renaissance style.

Artist

Unknown

Date

16th century

Medium

Velvet

Culture

Spanish

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Frederick C. Hewitt Fund, 1914