Roundel

Unknown

15th and 17th century · linen, silk, and gilt metal thread appliquéd to silk cut velvet embroidered with silk and gilt metal thread in padded couching and couching of gilt metal strips. · Robert Lehman Collection

This fifteenth-century roundel, together with three others in the Lehman Collection (1975.1.2441, 1975.1.2442, 1975.1.2443), was appliquéd to rectangular panels of dark red velvet embroidered and couched in allover strapwork forming fleur-de-lis and leaf patterns, dating to the seventeenth century. Two of the rectangles, finished with gilt metal tape, were attached directly to an upholstered couch; the other two were made into cushions, no doubt for the same couch. Each of the roundels contains a half-length figure. All four figures hold models of churches, three of them wear bishops' miters and the fourth, a cardinal's hat. The roundels were most likel once part of an orphery band or cross on either a chasuble, or a cope, although they also could have been parts of the border of an antependium or the apparels on a dalmatic.

Artist

Unknown

Date

15th and 17th century

Medium

linen, silk, and gilt metal thread appliquéd to silk cut velvet embroidered with silk and gilt metal thread in padded couching and couching of gilt metal strips.

Culture

Italian or Spanish

Department

Robert Lehman Collection

Credit line

Robert Lehman Collection, 1975