Cushion

Art Historical Context

This exquisite *Cushion* from 16th- or 17th-century Italy, now in the Robert Lehman Collection The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the opulence of ecclesiastical textiles from the Renaissance and early Baroque periods. Crafted from luxurious silk woven with metal threads and backed by linen, it measures 12½ x 17¾ inches (32.5 x 44.5 cm), making it a portable yet sumptuous object likely used in liturgical settings—perhaps as a kneel-scarf, book cushion, or altar accessory during Masses and processions. The combination of materials highlights advanced Italian textile techniques of the era, where si...