Chasuble

Unknown

16th century · Silk and metal thread · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This chasuble– the tabard-like garment worn by a Catholic priest– embodies the nineteenth-century taste for older European historical styles, in this instance the Italian Renaissance. This machine-woven textile combines a main weft of pink with a candy-colored assortment of supplementary wefts in red, green and yellow– the latter in places embellished with a thin wrap of shiny lamella metal thread. Its pattern emulates that of a sixteenth-century silk. This vestment was clearly worn and used: the front is a patchwork of repairs, especially across the chest area.

Artist

Unknown

Date

16th century

Medium

Silk and metal thread

Culture

Italian

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1916