Part of a chasuble

Unknown

15th–16th century · Silk, metal thread, cotton · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Although the loss of the green pile has exposed much of the red ground, it is nonetheless apparent that the velvet composing these two fragmentary strips was once very fine indeed: a thick, early velvet, with a large scale, bold repeat pattern in gold of ornamented roundels and six-petalled blooms. Many centuries after the velvet was woven, these two lengths were sewn together (one upside down to achieve an alternating matte and gloss of pile direction) in the partial shape of a chasuble, with the exaggerated tear-drop contour popular in the mid-nineteenth century. The Met's collection includes a small fragment of another velvet with this same design (2002.494.583).

Artist

Unknown

Date

15th–16th century

Medium

Silk, metal thread, cotton

Culture

Spanish

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1917