Chasuble Fragment with Realistic Animals
Unknown Artist
c. 1420
Medium
Silk, gold thread; lampas weave
Dimensions
115.6 × 33.7 cm · mounted: 120.7 × 36.8 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1947.294
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Around 1400 an emerging interest in the bucolic world of nature encouraged a new trend among textile designers, as seen in the lions, hawks, dogs, and ducks on this luxury silk fragment. The continual influence of Chinese asymmetry, however, is evident in the prominent undulating palmette trees, enlarged from sinuous vines frequently seen in Italian silks and velvets from this period.