Fragment of a Chasuble (front)

Unknown

mid-15th century · Velvet · Robert Lehman Collection

This fragment together with another in the Lehman Collection (1975.1.1792B) form the front and back of a chasuble (a liturgical garment used during the celebration of the Mass). The dark green silk velvet of these chasuble fragments is patterned in al allover stepped repeat of a symmetrically placed five-lobed shield filled with a stylized plant reminiscent of a pomegranate. The shield is surmounted by a smaller stylized blossom on a branch with a triple knotting device. Two copes in the Robert Lehman Collection (1975.1.1843, 1975.1.1840) are made of cut and voided velevt in a nearly identical pattern.

Artist

Unknown

Date

mid-15th century

Medium

Velvet

Culture

Italian

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975