Chasuble

Against a fine cream-colored silk ground, an elegant knotwork pattern has been delineated in gold, green, peach, yellow and blue silk needlework. Originally, thick silver-wrapped threads articulated the whole; in many places, the silver strips have degraded, but the bright orange core of the metal thread– once hidden from sight, covered by the silver strips– provides aesthetic impact almost as strong as the sparkling metal must have been. A small embroidered armorial shield has been applied, slightly off-center, on the garment's reverse over the needlework patterning. At the same time this was done, the date 1610 has been stitched in Roman numerals.

At some point in the nineteenth century, the front of the chasuble was roughly and unsympathetically repaired: patches from two much later, and entirely different, floral machine-woven silks have replaced the original embroidered silk, with other areas recovered by a patchwork of the original knotwork silk, cut, seamed and pieced together. Around the same time, the front of the chasuble was cut to a more vogueish, fiddle-back outline. The reverse, however, has been left intact and is an elegant reminder of the skill and decorative impact of early seventeenth-century priestly clothing.