Chasuble

Unknown

mid-18th century · Silk and metal thread on silk · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

In a glorious array of color and glimmer, this chasuble– the tabard-like garment worn by a Catholic priest during church services– is the epitome of nineteenth-century exuberance. Its lush neo-Baroque design incorporates horns of plenty abundant with flowers and fruit, gilded arabesques, sprays of corn, with golden baskets and swags of more fruit and flowers. In addition to the broad palette of silks– pink, blue, green, yellow, peach, purple– a multiple of thicknesses and profiles of metal thread has been used. Alongside these drawn, wrapped and flat metals, additional flower-shaped elements have been punched out of shiny foil and painted in shades of blue and pink. Against a glimmering ground of Gros de Tours (a ribbed silk made with multi ply warp interlaced with organzine), the needlework is well-executed, representing the high professional standards maintained throughout the nineteenth century.

Artist

Unknown

Date

mid-18th century

Medium

Silk and metal thread on silk

Culture

Italian

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1948