Embroidered Front of an Altar
Unknown Artist
1600s - 1700s
Medium
embroidered satin and silk
Dimensions
108 × 209.5 cm
Classification
Embroidery
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
Accession Number
1916.901
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This spectacular cloth with raised three-dimensional embroidery embellished the front of an altar. Lavishly applied gilt-metal thread creates architectural embellishments enhanced by grand vases displaying sheaves of wheat in the upper corners and bunches of grapes in the center of the fringed over-frontal, referring to the bread and wine of the Mass. The central coat of arms represents the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy, a Roman Catholic mendicant order established in 1218 by Saint P...