Chasuble
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.
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.
Artwork Details
- Title: Chasuble
- Date: mid-19th century
- Culture: Italian
- Medium: Silk and metal thread on silk
- Dimensions: L. 42 inches (106.7 cm)
- Classification: Textiles-Embroidered
- Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1948
- Object Number: 48.37.5
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1835
Pierre Philippe Thomire
lapidary work: early 19th century; pedestal and mounts: 1819
Italian
probably ca. 1840–50, or somewhat earlier
Bertel Thorvaldsen
mid-19th century
Castellani
ca. 1860
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