Chasuble

This chasuble- the tabard-like garment worn by a priest officiating at Catholic church services- belongs to a set partially surviving at The Met, alongside a stole (16.32.331), towel-like maniple (16.32.332), and chalice veil (16.32.330). Against a fine cream satin silk ground, talented professional embroiderers portrayed peacocks, doves, and pelicans- Christian symbols of immortality, of God, and of Christ's sacrifice- alongside fountains and winged cherub heads, all set within an elegant framework of scrolling arabesques. Such decorative grotesques, so-called in evocation of recently-excavated Roman grotto-like subterranean wall paintings, were extremely popular throughout sixteenth-century Europe for both sacred and secular ornamentation.