8279.

and spread out quite flat beneath our Lord’s body, is put upon a mourning pall of red silk, which is worked all over with flowers, doubtless in allusion to this very custom of showering down upon it flowers as it is carried by.Very like, in part, to the Greek ceremony, is the Latin rite still followed on Good Friday of kissing the crucifix as it lies upon a cushion on the steps going up to the altar, and known of old in England as creeping to the cross, the ritual for which among the Anglo-Saxons, as well as later, according to the use of Salisbury, may be seen in the “Church of Our Fathers,” t. iv. pp. 88, 241. Those who have travelled in the East, or in countries where the Greek rite is followed, may have observed that, almost always, the cupola of the larger churches is painted with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy; and among the crowd of personages therein shown are usually six angels reverently bearing one of these so-figured sindons, as was noticed in the Introduction, § 5.

Very like, in part, to the Greek ceremony, is the Latin rite still followed on Good Friday of kissing the crucifix as it lies upon a cushion on the steps going up to the altar, and known of old in England as creeping to the cross, the ritual for which among the Anglo-Saxons, as well as later, according to the use of Salisbury, may be seen in the “Church of Our Fathers,” t. iv. pp. 88, 241. Those who have travelled in the East, or in countries where the Greek rite is followed, may have observed that, almost always, the cupola of the larger churches is painted with the celebration of the Divine Liturgy; and among the crowd of personages therein shown are usually six angels reverently bearing one of these so-figured sindons, as was noticed in the Introduction, § 5.

Portionof an Orphrey for a Chasuble; border woven in silk, with a various-coloured diapering. German, late 14th century. 3 feet.

Such textiles (for they are not embroideries) as these were evidently wrought to serve as the orphreys for liturgical garments of a less costly character, and made, as this example is, out of thread as well as silk, fashioned after a simple type of pattern.

LinenNapkin, for a Crozier; of very fine linen, and various embroideries. German, late 14th century. 2 feet 10 inches by 6 feet.

Such napkins are very great liturgical curiosities, as the present one, and another in this collection, are the only specimens known in this country; and perhaps such another could not be found on any part of the Continent, the employment of them having been for a very long time everywhere left off. Its top, like a high circular-headed cap, 4¾ inches by 4 inches, is marked with a diapering, on one sidelozengy, on the otherchecky, ground crimson, and filled in with the gammadion or filfot in one form or another. On the lozenges this gammadion is parti-coloured,green, yellow, white, purple; in the checks, all green, yellow, white, and purple. Curiously enough, the piece of vellum used as a stiffening for this cap is a piece of an old manuscript about some loan, and bears the date of the year 1256. The slit up the middle of the linen, 11 inches long, is bordered on both edges with a linen woven lace, 1½ inches broad, embroidered on one side of the slit with L, one of the forms of the gammadion; on the other with the saltire, or St. Andrew’s cross; the gammadion and saltire are wrought in purple, green, crimson (faded), or yellow, each of one colour, and not mixed, as in one part of the cap. These two edgings brought together, and thus running up for the space of 6 inches, are stopped by a piece of woven silk lace, 3¼ inches by 2 inches, and figured with the filfot or gammadion. The linen is very fine, and of that kind which, in the middle ages, was called “bissus;” tent-like in shape, and closed, it hung in full folds. Its gold and silken cords, of various colours, as well as those large well-platted knobs of silk and gold by which it was strung to the upper part of the crozier, are all quite perfect; and an account of this ornament is given in the “Church of Our Fathers,” t. ii. p. 210. Dr. Bock has given a figure of the present one in his “Geschichte der Liturgischen Gewänder des Mittelalters,” 4 Lieferung, pl. xiv. fig. i; and another specimen will be found here, No. 8662.

Pieceof Net, of coarse linen thread, with an interlaced lozenge pattern, and a border. Very likely German, 16th century. 3 feet 10 inches by 3 feet 8 inches.

Those who amuse themselves by netting will find in this specimen a good example to follow, both in design and accurate execution. It must have been wrought for domestic, and not for Church use.

Portionof an Orphrey, in red and purple silk, figured in gold, with a fleur-de-lis, inscriptions, and armorial bearings. German, late 15th century. 12¾ inches by 2¾ inches.

This piece is woven throughout, and the letters, as well as the heraldry, are the work, not of the needle, but of the shuttle. On a fieldgulesis shown a fleur-de-lisargent, which device, not being upon a shield, may have been meant for a badge. On a fieldoris a crosspurpure, and over it, another cross of the field. Though the words given may possibly be intended to read “Pete allia (alia),” there are difficulties in so taking them. It is imagined that these heraldic bearings refer to the archiepiscopal sees and chapters of Cologne and Treves.

Pieceof Silken and Linen Texture. Upon a yellow thread ground are figured, in green silk, trees, from the lower right side of which darts down a pencil of sunbeams, and just over these rays stand birds like cockatoos or hoopoes, and six-petaled flowers and eagles stooping, both once in gold, now dimmed; the flowers and eagles well raised above the rest of the design. Made in North Italy, during the middle of the 14th century.

When bright and fresh, this stuff must have been very effective; and a play of light could not fail in well showing off its golden eagles and flowers, that are made to stand out somewhat boldly amid the green foliage of the trees.

Pieceof Lilac-purple Silk, with a delicate diapering of vine-branches and birds. Italian, late 14th century.

Though everything is small in the design of this piece, it is remarkably pleasing. The way in which the boughs are twined is quite graceful, and the foliage very good.

Pieceof Light Crimson Silk and Gold Tissue. This small bit of a large pattern shows a crested bird plucking a bell-shaped flower. Italian, early 15th century.

Unfortunately this scrap is so small as not to exhibit enough of the original design to let us know what it was; but, to judge by the ends of some wings, we have before us sufficient to see that, when entire, it must have consisted of large birds, and have been bold and telling.

Pieceof Light Crimson Silk and Gold Tissue; the pattern is a diapering, all in gold, formed of a tree with a lioness sejant regardant beneath it, and a bird alighting on a flower, the centre of which is spotted with stamens of blue silk. North Italian, beginning of the 15th century.

This specimen is valuable both for its rich materials and the effective way in which the design is brought out.

Pieceof Dark Purple Silk and Silver Tissue, relieved with crimson thrown up in very small portions. The pattern is a bold diapering of grotesque animals and birds, together with inscriptions affecting to be in Arabic. Very likely from the South of Spain, at the beginning of the 15th century. 24 inches by 19 inches.

Alike conspicuous for the richness of materials, as for the exuberance in its design, this specimen deserves particular attention. Spotted leopards and shaggy-haired dogs, all collared, and separated by bundles of wheat-ears; birds of prey looking from out the foliage, hoopoes pecking at a human face, dragon-like snakes gracefully convoluted amid a Moorish kind of ornamentation, and imitated Arabic letters strung together without a meaning, show that the hand of the Christian workman was guided somewhat by Saracenic teachings, or wrought under the set purpose of passing off his work as of Oriental produce. But in this, as in so many other examples, a strong liking for heraldry is displayed by those pairs of wings conjoined and elevated, in the one instance eagle’s, in the other wyvern’s.

Pieceof Silk and Gold Tissue, on a red ground; a design in green, relieved by bands of scroll-pattern, with an eagle’s head and neck in gold and flowers in white and dark purple. Sicilian, 15th century. 12¼ inches by 12 inches.

When new this tissue must have been very showy, but now the whole of its pattern is somewhat difficult to trace out. The way in which the large eagle’s head and neck are given, resting upon a broad-scrolled bar, is rather singular; so, too, is the listing or border, on one side charged with a small but rich ornamentation, amid which may be detected some eaglets.

Pieceof Silk and Gold Tissue, the ground of which is gold banded with patterns in blue, red, and green, divided by narrowed stripes of black; on one golden band is an Arabic word repeated all through the design. Syrian. 16½ inches by 16 inches.

The value of this fine rich specimen will be instantly appreciated when it is borne in mind that it is one of the few known examples of real Saracenic weaving which we have.Its ornamentation has about it, in the checkered and circular portions of its design, much of that feeling which shows itself in Saracenic architecture; and those who remember the court of lions, in the Alhambra at Granada, will not be surprised at seeing animals figured upon this piece of stuff so freely.The broad bands are separated by very narrow black ones, on which are shown, in gold, short lengths of thick foliage like strawberry-leaves, and an animal, which, from the tuft of hair on its ears, seems a lynx, chased by the hunting-leopard, of which our celebrated travelling countryman, Sir John Mandeville, in his “Voiage,” written in the reign of Edward III, speaks thus: “In Cipre men hunten with Papyonns that ben lyche Lepardes, and thei taken wylde bestes righte welle and thei ben somedelle more than Lyonns; and thei taken morescharpely the bestes and more delyverly than don houndes.” Ed. Halliwell, p. 29. This sort of leopard, the claws of which are not, like the rest of its kind, retractile, is, to this day, employed in Asia, more especially in the East Indies, like dogs for hunting, and known by the name of “Cheetah.”Each of these lengths is studded with those knots, found so often upon eastern wares of all sorts, and formed by narrow ribbons interlacing one another at right angles so as to produce squares or checks; these knots are alternately large—of three rows of checks, and small—of two rows. Upon one of the large bands, gold in its ground, is, all along it, woven a sentence in Arabic letters in dusky white, of which tint is the circular ornament which everywhere stands between this writing; very likely these characters, as well as the dividing flower, were once of a crimson colour, which is now faded. The inscribed sentence itself being figured without the distinctive points, may be understood various ways. That it is some well-known Oriental saying or proverb is very likely, and, to hazard a guess, reads thus: “Injury, hurt, reception,”—meaning, perhaps, that the individual who has done you, behind your back, all the harm he can, may, when next he meets you, utter the greetings and put on all the looks of friendship. Such was its meaning, as read by the late lamented Oriental scholar, Dr. Cureton.Upon the next broad band, on a ground once crimson, are figured, in gold, the before-mentioned “papyonns,” or hunting-leopards, collared and in a sitting position under foliage, swans swimming, and an animal of the gazelle or antelope genus, heraldically lodged regardant, with a flower-bearing stem in its mouth, and another animal not easily identified. The remaining two broad bands, one blue, the other green, are figured, in gold, with squares filled up by checks of an Oriental character, alternating with quatrefoils sprouting all over into flowers.

The value of this fine rich specimen will be instantly appreciated when it is borne in mind that it is one of the few known examples of real Saracenic weaving which we have.

Its ornamentation has about it, in the checkered and circular portions of its design, much of that feeling which shows itself in Saracenic architecture; and those who remember the court of lions, in the Alhambra at Granada, will not be surprised at seeing animals figured upon this piece of stuff so freely.

The broad bands are separated by very narrow black ones, on which are shown, in gold, short lengths of thick foliage like strawberry-leaves, and an animal, which, from the tuft of hair on its ears, seems a lynx, chased by the hunting-leopard, of which our celebrated travelling countryman, Sir John Mandeville, in his “Voiage,” written in the reign of Edward III, speaks thus: “In Cipre men hunten with Papyonns that ben lyche Lepardes, and thei taken wylde bestes righte welle and thei ben somedelle more than Lyonns; and thei taken morescharpely the bestes and more delyverly than don houndes.” Ed. Halliwell, p. 29. This sort of leopard, the claws of which are not, like the rest of its kind, retractile, is, to this day, employed in Asia, more especially in the East Indies, like dogs for hunting, and known by the name of “Cheetah.”

Each of these lengths is studded with those knots, found so often upon eastern wares of all sorts, and formed by narrow ribbons interlacing one another at right angles so as to produce squares or checks; these knots are alternately large—of three rows of checks, and small—of two rows. Upon one of the large bands, gold in its ground, is, all along it, woven a sentence in Arabic letters in dusky white, of which tint is the circular ornament which everywhere stands between this writing; very likely these characters, as well as the dividing flower, were once of a crimson colour, which is now faded. The inscribed sentence itself being figured without the distinctive points, may be understood various ways. That it is some well-known Oriental saying or proverb is very likely, and, to hazard a guess, reads thus: “Injury, hurt, reception,”—meaning, perhaps, that the individual who has done you, behind your back, all the harm he can, may, when next he meets you, utter the greetings and put on all the looks of friendship. Such was its meaning, as read by the late lamented Oriental scholar, Dr. Cureton.

Upon the next broad band, on a ground once crimson, are figured, in gold, the before-mentioned “papyonns,” or hunting-leopards, collared and in a sitting position under foliage, swans swimming, and an animal of the gazelle or antelope genus, heraldically lodged regardant, with a flower-bearing stem in its mouth, and another animal not easily identified. The remaining two broad bands, one blue, the other green, are figured, in gold, with squares filled up by checks of an Oriental character, alternating with quatrefoils sprouting all over into flowers.

Pieceof Silk and Gold Tissue; the ground, lilac; the pattern, green and white, of flowers, beneath which couch two animals, and under them stand two eagles. Italian or Sicilian, late 14th century. 15½ inches by 15¼ inches.

One of those well-balanced designs thrown off so freely by the looms of Italy and Sicily during the whole of the 14th century. What thosetwo animals collared, couchant and addorsed regardant, may be meant for it is hard to imagine. Rays, like those from the sun, dart down beneath these dog-like creatures, and looking upward to those beams stand two eagles. Some of the flowers and the two animals are wrought in gold.

Pieceof Silk; ground, dark blue; pattern, yellow, in zigzag arabesque. Moorish work of the South of Spain, 14th century. 12½ inches by 8½ inches.

Though of such simple elements in its design, this Moresco stuff is not unpleasing.

TwoPieces of Silk and Gold Tissue, having a pattern in bands diapered with arabesques, birds, and animals. Syrian, 14th century. 5 inches by 4 inches, and 5 inches by 3½ inches.

Although but mere rags, these two specimens are interesting. They tell, of their country and time, by the management of their design, and have a near relationship to the specimen No. 8288.

Pieceof Silk; ground, red with pattern, in violet, of vine-leaves, conventional foliage, and animals. Sicilian, early 14th century. 12½ inches by 6 inches.

This very pretty produce of the Italian loom, likeNo. 8283, commends itself to our admiration by the graceful manner in which the design is carried out. Though small in its parts, the pattern is attractive. Those stags, tripping and showing heads well attired, are not uncommon, about the period, upon stuffs, but those wild boars—like the deer, in pairs—segeant face to face, are somewhat new.

Pieceof Linen embroidered in red silk, with an open diaper of crosslets leaving circular and lozenge spaces, the former now empty, the latter ornamented with cross-crosslets in yellow, purple, and green silk. Late 14th century. 15 inches by 12½ inches.

In all likelihood the round spaces were filled in with heraldic animals, and the piece served as the apparel to an alb, resembling the one shown on the fine Wensley brass, figured by the brothers Waller, and also given in the “Church of our Fathers,” t. i. p. 325.

Pieceof Silk and Gold Tissue, the ground red with a pattern in green and white, forming a large lozenge, enclosing, in one instance, a bunch of foliage and two eagles, in the other, a bough and two dogs. South Italian, late 14th century. 21½ inches by 11½ inches.

In this rich pattern there are certain portions that, at first sight, might be taken for attempts to represent Oriental letters; they are, however, no forms of any alphabet, and, least of all, bear any likeness to the Cufic.

Pieceof Silk and Cotton Tissue; ground, deep red mixed with green, blue, white, and gold; the pattern consists of loosely branched stems with large flower-heads, and monsters alternately blue and gold, bearing in their hands a white flower. Italian, late 14th century. 27½ inches by 9½ inches.

The so-called sphinxes in this piece are those monster figures often found in art-work during the middle ages, and are formed of a femalehead and waist joined on to the body of a lioness passant cowed, that is, with its tail hanging down between its legs. In this specimen may be detected an early form of the artichoke pattern, which afterwards became such a favourite.

Pieceof Silk; ground, dark red; pattern, a yellow diapering of somewhat four-sided figures enclosing an ornament of a double ellipsis. South Spanish, 15th century. 10¾ inches by 7 inches.

Pieceof Crimson Silk; pattern, in green, of open arabesque spread in wide divisions. Southern Spain, late 14th century. 18 inches by 7 inches.

The design of this valuable piece is very good, and must have had a pleasing effect. From the way in which the cross is introduced by combinations of the ornamentation and slight attempts at showing the letter M for Maria—the Blessed Virgin Mary, it would seem that it was the work of a Christian hand well practised in the Saracenic style of pattern-drawing.

Pieceof Silk; ground, crimson; pattern, a yellow diapering of a rather peculiar form. Spanish, late 14th century. 18 inches by 12 inches.

Rich in its tones, this specimen may have been designed under the influence of Moorish teachings; it is, however, very agreeable.

Pieceof Silk Tissue; the pattern, a large raised diaper, which consists of a centre, in red silk, representing the web of the geometric spider, with the insect resting in the middle, enclosed within the branches of a conventional tree,in silver thread. Italian, early 15th century. 12 inches by 6 inches.

Though the silk ground of this elegant stuff must have been once of a bright crimson tinge, almost the whole of the colour has flown; and the silver thread, of which the beautifully arranged tree is formed, has become so tarnished as to look as if it had been from first a dull olive-green. Such events give a warning to manufacturers about the quality of their dyes, and the purity as well as sort of the metals they may choose to employ. The manner in which the tree and its graceful branches are made to stand well out and above the red grounding is remarkably good; and, altogether, the pattern, composed as it is of a spider in its web, hanging so nicely between the outspread limbs of the tree, is as singular as it is pleasing. Of old, a Lombard family bore, as its blazon, a spider in its web.

Pieceof very rich Crimson Silk and gold Tissue; the large pattern represents a palm-tree rising from a close palisade, within which is a lion seated; from one side shoots a slender branch, to which clings a bird. Italian, late 14th century. 31 inches by 14 inches.

A fine bold pattern, but the gold so tarnished that it looks as if the threads had always been brown. The down-bent eagles, and the shaggy-maned lion couchant regardant at the foot of a palm-tree in a park palisaded, make this heraldic design very pleasing.

Portionof Linen; border, probably of an altar-cloth, stamped in red and yellow with a geometric pattern composed of circles and leaves. Flemish, 15th century.

The design and colouring of this old piece of printed cloth are so very like those employed upon the glazed paving tiles of the mediæval period, that the idea of the potter’s work immediately suggests itself; though of such poor material, it is a valuable link in the history of textiles.

Pieceof Purple Silk and Gold Tissue; the pattern is formed of angels holding a monstrance, beneath which is a six-winged cherub’s head. Florentine, 14th century. 18 inches by 16 inches.

This is one of the most elaborate and remarkable specimens of the mediæval weavers’ works, and shows how well, even with their appliances, they could gear their looms. The faces of the six-winged cherubic heads, as well as the hands and faces of the seraphim, vested in long albs, were originally shaded by needlework, most of which is now gone. The Umbrian school of design to be seen in the gracefully floating forms of the angels, is very discernible. This rich stuff must have been purposely designed and woven for especial liturgical use at the great Festival of Corpus Christi, and its solemn processions. It may have been employed for hanging the chancel walls, or for altar-curtains; but most likely it overspread the long wooden frame-work or portable table upon which stood, and was thus carried all about the town by two or four deacons, the Blessed Sacrament enclosed in a tall heavy gold or silver vessel like the one shown in this textile, and called a “monstrance,” because, instead of shutting up from public gaze, it displayed the consecrated host as it was borne about among the people. Dr. Bock has figured this stuff in his “Geschichte der Liturgischen Gewänder des Mittelalters.”

Pieceof Linen; pattern, stamped in black with a central stem of conventional branches and flowers, at either side of which are hawks crested, regardant; at one side is a running border of detached portions of scroll-foliage. Flemish, very late 14th century. 13 inches by 6¾ inches.

Any specimen of such printed linen has now become somewhat a rarity, though there are other pieces here, Nos.7022,8615.

LinenTowel, for use at the altar, with deep border embroidered in various coloured silk, with a geometrical pattern interspersed with small figures of birds. Beginning of 15th century. 3 feet by 1 foot 1 inch.

ADiaconal Stole, embroidered in linen thread and various-coloured silk, with a pattern somewhat like the “gammadion” ornaments, the ends of gold tissue, fringed with silk and linen. German, 14th century. 8 feet 8 inches by 2¾ inches.

For the distinction of the priest’s and the deacon’s stole, and the manner in which either wears it in the celebration of the liturgy, see Hierurgia, p. 434, 2nd edition.

Pieceof Dark brown raised Velvet and Gold Tissue; portion of the robe in which the Emperor Charles IV. was buried at Prague, as it is said. Italian, 14th century. 7 inches by 6½ inches.

LinenAmice, with its “apparel” of crimson silk, to which are sewed small ornaments in silver and silver-gilt. German, 15th century. 4 feet 2 inches by 1 foot 11 inches.

The example of linen in this amice will, for the student of mediæval antiquities and manufactures, be of great service, showing, as it does, what we are to understand was the kind of stuff meant by canvas in old accounts which speak of that material so often as bought for makingalbs, surplices, and other linen garments used in the ceremonial of the Church. The crimson ornament of silk sprinkled with large spangle-like plates of silver gilt, and struck with a variety of patterns, is another of various instances to show how the goldsmith’s craft in the middle ages was brought into play for ornaments upon silk and other textiles; and the liturgical student will be glad to see in this specimen an instance, now so very rare, of an old amice, with its strings, but more especially its apparel, in its place; about which see “Church of our Fathers,” t. i. 463.

Pieceof Embroidery in Silk, on linen ground; the subject, partly needlework, and partly sketched in, represents the Adoration of the three Kings. German, 14th century. 12 inches square.

Though in the style of that period, it is roughly done, and by no means a good example.

Pieceof Silk and Gold Tissue; the ground, lilac-blue; the pattern, in gold, represents the Annunciation. Florentine, late 14th century. 17¾ inches by 12 inches.

This is another of those many beautiful and artistic exemplars of the loom given to the world, but more especially for the use of the Church, by North Italy, during the 14th and 15th centuries. The treatment of the subject figured on this fragment—the Annunciation—is quite typical, in its drawing and invention, of the feelings which spread themselves all over the sweet gentle Umbrian school of painting, from the days of its great teacher the graceful Giotto. The lover, too, of ecclesiastical symbolism will, in this small piece, find much to draw his attention to it: the dove, emblem of the Holy Ghost, is in one place flying down from heaven with an olive-branch, and hovers over the head of the Blessed Virgin Mary; in another place, it stands at rest behind her, and bearing in its beak a lily-like flower; the angel Gabriel, clothed in a full, wide-flowing alb, carrying in his left hand a wand—theherald’s sign—tipped with a fleur-de-lis, to show not only that he was sent from God, but for an especial purpose, is on his bended knee before the mother of our Lord, while, with his right hand uplifted in the act of blessing according to the Latin rite, he utters the words of his celestial message. The colour, too, of the ground—lilac-blue, emblematic of what is heavenly—must not be overlooked.

Fragmentof a Vestment for Church use; embroidered in silk and gold, on a dark blue linen ground, with figures of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Infant, our Saviour, and St. John. German, 15th century. 3 feet 6 inches by 10 inches.

This fine example of the German needle, in its design and treatment, calls to mind the remarkably painted folding altar-piece by Master Stephen Sothener,A.D.1410, in the chapel of St. Agnes, at the east end of Cologne Cathedral.

TheApparel for an Amice; the ground, crimson, embroidered in silk; the centre pattern is edged at both sides with inscriptions done in letters of the mediæval form. German, 15th century. 15¼ inches by 3¾ inches.

This apparel for an amice is embroidered in sampler-stitch and style with the names of St. Odilia and St. Kylianus, and the first line of the hymn in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Ave Regina celorum,” as well as the inscription “Mater Regis,” having, except in one instance, a crowned head between each word in the lettering. St. Kilian or Kuln was an Irishman born of a noble house: with two companions, he went to Germany to preach to the unbelieving Franconians, and being made bishop by Pope Conon, he fixed his see at Wurtzburg, where he was martyred,A.D.688. Dr. Bock has figured it in his “Geschichte der Liturgischen Gewänder des Mittelalters,” iv Lieferung, pl. iii. fig. 4.

Pieceof Raised Velvet; ground, crimson; pattern, flowers and foliage in green, white, and purple. North Italian, middle of 15th century. Attached is a piece of dark blue plush lining of the same date and country. 14¼ inches by 13¼ inches.

As a specimen of a pattern in raised velvet upon a plain silk ground, this fragment is valuable; and the occurrence of roses, both white and red, seeded and barbed, would, at first sight, lead to the thought that its designer had in his mind some recollection of the English Yorkist and Lancastrian strife-stirring and direful badges; but it must have been woven some years before the war of the Roses raged in all its wildness through the length and breadth of this land.

Pursewith cords; white lattice-work on crimson ground, with crimson and yellow pattern in the spaces, four of which on each side are ornamented with gold thread. German, latter half of the 14th century. 5½ inches by 5 inches.

Not only is this little bag nicely embroidered, but it has a lining of crimson sarcenet, and is supplied with platted silken strings of several colours for drawing its mouth close, as well as another silk string made after the same fashion, for carrying it in the hand. In church inventories of the period mention is often found of silk bags holding relics, and from Dr. Bock we learn that in the sacristy of St. Gereon’s, at Cologne, may yet be seen just such another bag, which served, if it does not still serve, as a sort of reliquary. For taking to the sick and dying, the holy Eucharist shut up in a small silver or ivory box, such little bags were and yet are employed, but then they were borne slung round the neck of the priest, which in this instance could not be done, as the cord is too short. Bags for prayer-books are often figured, but this one is too small for such a purpose; its most probable use was that of a reliquary.

Pieceof Velvet; ground of crimson, bordered with green, brown, white, and purple, and striped with bands of gold thread, probably for secular use. Spanish, beginning of the 16th century. 13½ inches by 5 inches.

The pile of this velvet is good, but so bad was the gold, that it has turned black.

TwoPieces of Embroidery, in silk and gold thread upon white linen; the one shows our Saviour bearing His cross; the other, an inscription with the date 1442. These pieces have been mounted on a piece of crimson damask of a much later date. The embroideries, German, middle of 15th century; the crimson silk, Lyons, late 17th century. 6 inches square.

To all appearance, this figure of our Lord carrying His cross to Calvary, as well as the inscription above it, formed part of the orphrey of a chasuble, and to preserve it, was mounted upon the crimson silk which is stiffened by a thin board; and from the black loop at top it seems it was hung as a devotional picture upon the wall, most likely, of a private oratory or bed-room. As a work of art, the figure of our Lord is beautiful. The head, hands, and feet, as well as the crossed nimbus in gold, the cross, and the ground strewed with flowers, are worked with the needle; while the folds of the white linen garment are all, with but a very few strokes, marked by brown lines put in with the brush. The inscription, quite a separate piece, done in gold upon thin brown silk lined with canvas, reads thus:—Wyderoyd Pastor S. Jac(obi) Colon(iensis). 1442.In its original state it must have been, as now, “applied,” and not wrought upon the vestment itself, and affords a good hint to those who are striving to bring back the use of such a mode of embroidery in cut work.

In its original state it must have been, as now, “applied,” and not wrought upon the vestment itself, and affords a good hint to those who are striving to bring back the use of such a mode of embroidery in cut work.

Pieceof Silk Embroidery on green silk ground. The pattern is in branches decorated with glass beads, and gilt spangles, flowers in white and red silk, and leaves in red and yellow. German, middle of 15th century. 6 inches square.

Remarkable for the freedom of its design and beautiful regularity of its stitches. The thin green sarcenet upon which the embroidery was originally made is nearly all gone, and scarcely anything like a grounding is to be seen beside the thick blue canvass, which is backed by a lining of the same material, but white. Those small opaque white beads, in all likelihood, came from Venice, where Murano, to this day, is the great manufactory for Africa of the same sort of ornament.

Napkin,or Towel, in White Linen Diaper, with patterns woven in blue and brown. German, beginning of the 15th century. 19½ inches by 9 inches.

Though not conspicuous for the richness of its material, this linen textile is somewhat a curiosity, as such specimens have now become rare; and it shows how, even in towels, the ornamentation of colour, as well as the pattern in warp and weft, were attended to in the mediæval period.

Pieceof Silk Damask, green, with pattern of pomegranates, crowns, and wreaths of flowers. Flemish, middle of 16th century.

The tastefully-arranged design of this silk would seem to have been a favourite, as we shall again meet it in other specimens, especially at No. 8332.

Pieceof Silk Damask, slate blue ground, with winding borders of cinnamon colour, enclosing pomegranates wrought in gold thread and white silk. Flemish, middle of 16th century, 2 feet 6½ inches by 2 feet.

Though elaborate in design and rich in gold, this piece is not happy in its colours. Its use must have been for the court and palace, but not for the church, and the whole is loom-wrought, and nothing about it done by the needle.

Orphrey,woven of crimson wool and white linen thread. The pattern is of flowers and leaves on a trellis of branches, in which appear the names of “Jhesus,” “Maria.” German, end of 15th century. 2 feet 8½ inches by 2¾ inches.

In this textile the warp is of white strong linen thread, the woof of crimson wool; and stuffs of such cheap materials were wrought to serve as orphreys to tunicles and dalmatics worn by deacon and sub-deacon at high mass, and in processions, as well as for trimming other adornments for church use; the liturgical girdle neither is, nor ever was made, according to the Latin rite, of so broad a width, nor after such a fashion; in the Greek ritual, broad girdles are in use.The weavers of laces for carriage-trimming, or the adornment of state liveries, will in this specimen see that, more than three hundred years ago, their craft was practised in Germany; and Cologne appears to have been the centre of such a loom production.

The weavers of laces for carriage-trimming, or the adornment of state liveries, will in this specimen see that, more than three hundred years ago, their craft was practised in Germany; and Cologne appears to have been the centre of such a loom production.

Pieceof Satin Damask, ground of golden yellow, covered with a rich pattern in rose-colour. French (?), middle of the 16th century. 2 feet 10½ inches by 11 inches.

In this specimen we observe how the designs for textiles were gradually losing the conventional forms of the mediæval period.

Pieceof Velvet, dark blue, figured with a pomegranate kind of pattern. Italian, end of the 15th century. 17¾ inches by 14½ inches.

Lucca seems to be the place where this specimen of a deep-piled and prettily designed velvet was produced; and a mediæval conventionality hung about the pencil of its designer, as we may observe in the scrolls or featherings stopped with graceful cusps which go round and shut in those modifications of the so-called pine, really an artichoke, and the pomegranate pattern.Though equally employed for secular as well as sacred purposes, such velvets, in their latter use, are often found in the remains of copes, chasubles, &c. and altar-frontals.

Though equally employed for secular as well as sacred purposes, such velvets, in their latter use, are often found in the remains of copes, chasubles, &c. and altar-frontals.

Portionof a Chasuble, in figured velvet; the ground, purple, with a pomegranate pattern in yellow, green, and white, with a broad yellow scroll. Genoese, middle of 16th century. 2 feet 3¼ inches by 1 foot 9 inches.

Genoa had earned for itself a notoriety, about this period, for its velvets, wrought in several colours, and the present piece seems no bad specimen of the style. By the warp of cotton and the thin low pile of its silken woof we learn that Genoese velvets varied much in the richness of their materials, and, in consequence, in their cost. This piece was once in a chasuble, as we may see by the bend, to fit the neck, in the upper part.

Pieceof Silk and Linen Tissue; pattern, white crosses on ground of crimson, barred with purple, yellow, and green. German, 16th century. 4 inches square.

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