Chasuble

Unknown

1725–30 · Silk and metal thread · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

The design of this silk textile belongs to a stylistic group historically called "bizarre", with distinctive bold and fantastical foliage, rendered in a rich and sparkling palette- here, coral pink, green, and cream, articulated with silver thread. This silken textile was treasured enough to have been carefully repurposed one hundred or so years after it was originally woven: the silk has been cut and assembled sometime in the nineteenth century to create the current garment, a tabard-like chasuble for a priest to wear when officiating during Roman Catholic church services.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1725–30

Medium

Silk and metal thread

Culture

Italian

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Lewis Einstein, 1952