8325.

This specimen of German trimming, like the oneNo. 8320, seems to have been made at Cologne, and for the same ecclesiastical uses.

Pieceof Silk-Velvet Damask; green, with pattern of large and small pomegranates in gold. Lucca, latter half of the 15th century. 3 feet 10 inches by 11½ inches.

Among the remarkable specimens of velvet in this collection, not the least conspicuous is the present one, being velvet upon velvet, that is, having, in a portion of it, a pattern in a higher pile than the pile of the ground. By looking narrowly at the larger pomegranate in golden thread within its heart-shaped oval, with featherings bounded by trefoiled cusps, the eye will catch an undulating pattern rising slightly above the rest of the pile; such examples, as distinguished from what is called cut or raised velvet, are very rare. The tone, too, of the fine green, as well as the goodness of the gold, in the ornamentation, enhance the value of this piece, which was once the back part of a chasuble.

Pieceof Silk Damask; white, with the rose and pomegranate pattern woven in gold thread. Spanish, latter half of the 15th century.

This piece, from the looms of Spain, for the beauty of design and the thick richness of its silk, is somewhat remarkable.

Boxcovered with crimson raised velvet, having, round the lid, a many-coloured cotton fringe. It holds two liturgical pallæ, both of fine linen and figured—one mounted on pasteboard and measuring 7¾ inches by 7¼ inches, with an altar and two figures; the other, with the Crucifixion and St. Mary and St. John, measuring 9½ inches by 9¾ inches. Inside the lid of this box is an illuminated border of flowers, andthe central design is effaced. Velvet, Italian, 16th century, all the paintings very late 15th century, and German. Box, 10 inches by 9½ inches.

As a case for holding “corporals” and “palls,” this box is a curiosity, in its way, of rare occurrence. It must be carefully distinguished from a square sort of case for the “corporal,” and called the “burse.” The corporal is a large square piece of fine linen; and at one time the chalice at mass not only stood upon it but was covered too by its inward border; but for a long period, the usage has been and is to put upon the chalice, instead of any part of the corporal, a much smaller separate square piece of fine linen, often stiffened, the better to serve its purpose, with card-board, like this example; such is a pall, and the one before us is figured, we may say illuminated, with what used to be called, in England, St. Gregory’s Pity; “Church of our Fathers,” i. 53. Upon an altar, around which are the instruments of the Passion, and on one side St. Peter, known by the key in his hand, and on the other the cock on the column, crowing, stands our Lord all bleeding, with the blood trickling into a chalice between His feet. At the foot of the altar kneels, veiled for mass, St. Gregory the Great, behind whom we see, holding a book in both hands, St. Jerome, robed as a cardinal; the whole is framed in a floriated border. The other, and unstiffened “pall,” is illuminated with the Crucifixion after the usual conventional manner, in all respects, that prevailed at the time it was done, that is, somewhere about the year 1490. As specimens on linen these two palls are rather rare. The border of flowers, on vellum, attached to the inside of the lid, is a free, well-coloured, and pleasing example of the Flemish school late in the 15th century. The raised velvet is of a rich crimson tone, and from Lucca or Genoa.Though, in later times, employed as an ordinary case for the cleanly keeping after service of the corporals or pieces of fine linen, always spread out in the middle of the altar-stone for the host and chalice to rest upon, at mass, its first use seems to have been for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament consecrated on Maundy Thursday to serve at the celebration of the divine office on Good Friday morning, as we have fully set forth in the Introduction § 5, and again while describing a similar box, No. 5958.In the present specimen all that remains of the vellum illumination, once upon the inside of the lid, is a wreath of painted flowers, within which stood the missing Crucifixion. The absence of that scene is, however, well supplied by the other kind of art-work wrought in coloursof the same subject; done, too, after a broad bold manner, upon a square piece of very fine linen, which, as it is moveable, serves now as a lining for the lower inside of this case.Such ecclesiastical appliances are rare, so much so, that, besides the two in this collection, none is known to be in this country; while very few, even on the Continent, are to be seen at the present day.

Though, in later times, employed as an ordinary case for the cleanly keeping after service of the corporals or pieces of fine linen, always spread out in the middle of the altar-stone for the host and chalice to rest upon, at mass, its first use seems to have been for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament consecrated on Maundy Thursday to serve at the celebration of the divine office on Good Friday morning, as we have fully set forth in the Introduction § 5, and again while describing a similar box, No. 5958.

In the present specimen all that remains of the vellum illumination, once upon the inside of the lid, is a wreath of painted flowers, within which stood the missing Crucifixion. The absence of that scene is, however, well supplied by the other kind of art-work wrought in coloursof the same subject; done, too, after a broad bold manner, upon a square piece of very fine linen, which, as it is moveable, serves now as a lining for the lower inside of this case.

Such ecclesiastical appliances are rare, so much so, that, besides the two in this collection, none is known to be in this country; while very few, even on the Continent, are to be seen at the present day.

Amiceof Linen; with its apparel of crimson velvet, on which are three hexagonal roses woven in gold. Spanish, middle of the 15th century. 3 feet 9 inches by 1 foot 9 inches.

The velvet of the apparel is of a fine rich pile, and the tone of colour light ruby. The flowers, seeded and barbed, are not put in by the needle but woven. Such a liturgical appliance is not now often to be met with in its original state; but, in this instance, it ought to be noticed, that while the amice itself—that is, the linen portion of this vestment—is remarkable for its large size, the velvet apparel sewed on it is broader and shorter than those which we find figured on English ecclesiastical monuments during the mediæval period. The narrow green ferret which hems the apparel is usually found employed as a binding in crimson liturgical garments anciently made in Flanders. Though the velvet was woven in Spain, this linen amice seems to have once belonged to some Flemish sacristy: at one period the connection between the two countries was drawn very close.

LinenCloth or Corporal, with an edge on all its four sides; 2¼ inches broad, embroidered in blue, white, and yellow silks. German, late 15th century. 22 inches by 21 inches.

To the student of ecclesiastical antiquities this liturgical appliance will be a great curiosity, from its being so much larger than the corporals now in use; but its size may be easily accounted for. From being put over the altar-cloth, on the middle of the table of the altar, so that thepriest, at mass, might place the host and chalice immediately upon it before and after the consecration of the Eucharist, it got, and still keeps the name of “corporale,” about which the reader may consult “Hierurgia,” p. 74, 2nd edition.The embroidery, seemingly of a vine, is somewhat remarkable from being, like Indian needlework, the same on both sides, and was so done for a purpose to be noticed below. Its greater size may be easily explained. During the middle ages, as in England, so in Germany, the usage was to cover the chalice on the altar, not with a little square piece of linen called a “palla,” two specimens of which are mentioned,No. 8327, but with the corporal itself, as shown in those illuminations copied and given as a frontispiece to the fourth volume of the “Church of our Fathers.” To draw up for this purpose the inner edge of the corporal, it was made, as needed, larger than the one now in use. Moreover, as the under side of the embroidery would thus be turned upwards and conspicuously shown, even on the consecrated chalice, to a great extent; and as anything frayed and ragged—and this single embroidery always is on the under side—would, at such a time, in such a place, have been most unseemly; to hinder this disrespect the embroidery was made double, that is, as perfect on the one side as on the other, giving the design clear and accurate on both, so that whichever part happened to be turned upwards it looked becoming.

The embroidery, seemingly of a vine, is somewhat remarkable from being, like Indian needlework, the same on both sides, and was so done for a purpose to be noticed below. Its greater size may be easily explained. During the middle ages, as in England, so in Germany, the usage was to cover the chalice on the altar, not with a little square piece of linen called a “palla,” two specimens of which are mentioned,No. 8327, but with the corporal itself, as shown in those illuminations copied and given as a frontispiece to the fourth volume of the “Church of our Fathers.” To draw up for this purpose the inner edge of the corporal, it was made, as needed, larger than the one now in use. Moreover, as the under side of the embroidery would thus be turned upwards and conspicuously shown, even on the consecrated chalice, to a great extent; and as anything frayed and ragged—and this single embroidery always is on the under side—would, at such a time, in such a place, have been most unseemly; to hinder this disrespect the embroidery was made double, that is, as perfect on the one side as on the other, giving the design clear and accurate on both, so that whichever part happened to be turned upwards it looked becoming.

Pieceof Silk Damask; green, with pattern of crowns connected by wavy ribbons, in each space is a rose. North Italian, 15th century. 22 inches by 21 inches.

This fine and valuable piece of damask exhibits a very effective design, which is thoroughly heraldic in all its elements. Of these, the first are roselettes—single roses having five petals each—seeded and barbed, and every petal folds inward very appropriately; all about each roselette roves a bordure nebulé, significative in heraldry of a cloud-wreath, above which and just over the flower rests an open crown, the hoop of which is studded with jewels, and bears on the upper rim two balls—pearls—on pyramidal points, and three fleurs-de-lis. To take these roselettes for the Tudor flower would be a great mistake, as it was not thought of at the period when this stuff was manufactured, besides which, it is never shown as a roselette or single rose, but as a verydouble one. It is not unlikely that this damask was, in the first instance, ordered from Italy, if not by our Edward IV, at least by one of the Yorkist party after the Lancastrian defeat at Mortimer’s Cross: the crown with its fringe of clouds seems to point to the curious appearance in the heavens that day. When once his loom was geared the Lombard weaver would not hesitate to work off stuffs after the same pattern ordered by his English customer and sell them in the Italian markets.

Pieceof Lace in Open Work. The pattern, oblong and octagonal spaces framed in gold thread, and containing stars in silver and flowers in gold, upon a black silk ground. Milanese, end of the 16th century. 14¼ inches by 4½ inches.

8331.LACE EMBROIDERY,Milanese—— 16thcentury.

8331.

LACE EMBROIDERY,

Milanese—— 16thcentury.

During a long time Milan, the capital of rich and manufacturing Lombardy, stood conspicuous among its neighbouring cities for the production of its gold thread, and beautifully wrought laces in that material; and the specimen before us is a pleasing example of this far-famed Milanese handicraft. To all appearance, it once served as the apparel to an amice to be used in religious services for the dead. It seems the work of the loom; and the piece of stout black silk under it was meant, though quite apart from it, to be, as it were, a grounding to throw up more effectively its gold and silver ornamentation.

Pieceof Silk, formerly crimson, but much faded, with elaborate pattern of pomegranates, crowns and wreaths of flowers. Flemish, middle of the 16th century. 19 inches by 17½ inches.

In this piece, though so faded, we have a good specimen of the Bruges loom about the second half of the 16th century, and seemingly from the same workshop which sent forth No. 8318.

Hoodof a Cope, with figures embroidered on a very rich ground of red and gold velvet. Velvet, Florentine; the embroidery Flemish, late 15th century. 16 inches by 15½ inches.

About this period, Florence was noted for its truly rich and beautiful crimson velvets of a deep pile and artistically flowered in gold, and profusely sprigged, or rather dotted, with small loops of golden thread standing well up from the velvet ground; and in this production of Florentine contrivance we have a good example of its speciality.The needlework is a very favourable specimen of Flemish embroidery, and the management of the three subjects shows that the hand that wrought them was quickened with a feeling love for the school of Hans Memling, who has made Bruges to be the pilgrimage of many an admirer of the beautiful in Christian art. The holy woman, who, according to the old tradition, gave a napkin to our Lord on His way to Calvary, is figured, at top, holding, outstretched before her to our view, this linen cloth showing shadowed on it the head of our Redeemer crowned with thorns and trickling with blood: the Saint became known as St. Veronica, and the handkerchief itself as the “Varnicle.” Just below, we have the Blessed Virgin Mary seated and holding on her knees the infant Saviour, before whom kneels St. Bernard, the famous abbot of Clairvaux, in the white Cistercian habit which he had received from our fellow-countryman, St. Stephen Harding, the founder of the Cistercian Order, about the year 1114. The group itself is an early example of a once favourite subject in St. Bernard’s life, thus referred to by Mrs. Jameson, in one of her charming books:—“It was said of him (St. Bernard) that when he was writing his famous homilies on ‘The Song of Songs which is Solomon’s,’ the Holy Virgin herself condescended to appear to him, and moistened his lips with the milk from her bosom; so that ever afterwards his eloquence, whether in speaking or in writing, was persuasive, irresistible, super-natural.” (Legends of the Monastic Orders, p. 142). Lower still, St. Bernard, with his abbot’s pastoral staff, cast upon the ground by his side, is praying, on bended knees, before a crucifix, from off of which our Redeemer has loosened Himself to fall into the arms of the saint, who was so fond of meditating on all the throes of our Lord upon the cross.

The needlework is a very favourable specimen of Flemish embroidery, and the management of the three subjects shows that the hand that wrought them was quickened with a feeling love for the school of Hans Memling, who has made Bruges to be the pilgrimage of many an admirer of the beautiful in Christian art. The holy woman, who, according to the old tradition, gave a napkin to our Lord on His way to Calvary, is figured, at top, holding, outstretched before her to our view, this linen cloth showing shadowed on it the head of our Redeemer crowned with thorns and trickling with blood: the Saint became known as St. Veronica, and the handkerchief itself as the “Varnicle.” Just below, we have the Blessed Virgin Mary seated and holding on her knees the infant Saviour, before whom kneels St. Bernard, the famous abbot of Clairvaux, in the white Cistercian habit which he had received from our fellow-countryman, St. Stephen Harding, the founder of the Cistercian Order, about the year 1114. The group itself is an early example of a once favourite subject in St. Bernard’s life, thus referred to by Mrs. Jameson, in one of her charming books:—“It was said of him (St. Bernard) that when he was writing his famous homilies on ‘The Song of Songs which is Solomon’s,’ the Holy Virgin herself condescended to appear to him, and moistened his lips with the milk from her bosom; so that ever afterwards his eloquence, whether in speaking or in writing, was persuasive, irresistible, super-natural.” (Legends of the Monastic Orders, p. 142). Lower still, St. Bernard, with his abbot’s pastoral staff, cast upon the ground by his side, is praying, on bended knees, before a crucifix, from off of which our Redeemer has loosened Himself to fall into the arms of the saint, who was so fond of meditating on all the throes of our Lord upon the cross.

Pieceof Crimson Velvet, spangled with gold and silver stars, and embroidered with leaves and flowers in gold thread, once dotted with precious stones. North Italian, end of the 15th century. 14½ inches by 5¼ inches.

The Genoese velvet of this piece is of a very deep ruby tone, deeper than usual; but the way in which it is ornamented should not be passed over by those who wish to learn one among the very effective styles of embroidering. The design consists chiefly of branches gracefully bent in all directions and sprouting out, here and there, with leaves and variously fashioned flowers which, from one example that still holds its tiny round-headed piece of coloured glass set in a silver gilt socket, bore in them mock precious stones, and perhaps seed-pearls. These branches themselves are made of common hempen string, edged on both sides with a thread of gold of a smaller bulk, and the flowers are heightened to good effect by the bright red stitches of the crimson silk with which the gold that forms them is sewed in; and the whole of the design appears to have been worked, first upon a strong canvas, from which it was afterwards cut and appliqué upon its velvet ground. All the space between the boughs is sprinkled rather thickly with six-rayed stars of gold and silver, but the latter ones have turned almost black. This piece was once the apparel for the lower border of an alb.

Pieceof Silk Damask; upon a light blue ground, an elaborate pattern of pomegranates and flowers in pale yellow. Flemish, end of the 16th century. 24½ inches by 21 inches.

Like, in many respects, to another piece of the looms of ancient Bruges, it shows that the Flemings were unfortunate in their mode of dyeing, for this, as well asNo. 8332, has faded much in colour, but the pattern is very rich and graceful. This textile is figured by Dr. Bock, in his “History of Liturgical Robes,” vol. i.

Pieceof Silk Net-Work, formerly crimson. The design is evidently circular, and consists of a lozenge filled in with two other very much smaller lozenges touching each other lengthwise. Milanese, end of the 16th century.

This curious little piece of frame-work seems to be another specimen of the lace of Milan, concerning which a notice has been given under No. 8331. Some would take it to be crochet, but it looks as if it came from a loom. To our thinking, it was either the heel or the toe part of a silk stocking. Though of a much finer texture, it much resembles, in pattern, the yellow silk pair of stockings belonging now to the Marquis of Salisbury, but once presented by Lord Hunsdon to Queen Elizabeth, and said to be the first ever made in England.

Pieceof Crimson Raised Velvet, with pattern of pomegranates, flowers and scrolls embroidered in gold thread and coloured silks. Genoese, beginning of the 16th century.

This piece affords a very instructive instance of how velvet textiles were not unfrequently treated. The pattern was first wrought in the weaving, and made the fabric what is now known as cut or raised velvet. Then those parts left bare of the silken pile were filled in by hand-embroidery, done in gold, silver, and silks of various colours, as the fancy of the individual might like, and produced a mixed work similar to the one before us. The velvet itself of this specimen is poor in colour and thin in substance, but the gold thread is of the finest, and admirably put together; and those little specks of the crimson silk employed in sewing it on, help, in no small manner, to heighten its brilliancy and effect.

Partof an Orphrey; ground, gold thread, with ornamentation, in silk, of a rosette, a tree with flowers, and the inscriptions—“Ave Regina Celorum,” and “Jhesus.” Cologne work, late 15th century. 22½ inches by 3¾ inches.

Much, in style, like No. 8320.

Partof an Orphrey, woven in silk upon linen; ground, red; pattern, in gold thread upon blue silk. Cologne work, 15th century. 15½ inches by 4½ inches.

This and the piece immediately preceding afford us one of the peculiarities of the German loom, and, in all likelihood, were woven at Cologne, the great manufacturing centre of Germany in the middle ages. Such webs were wrought for the orphreys of chasubles, copes, and dalmatics, &c. The design is stiff, and wanting in much of the elegance to be found in earlier works of the loom, and, from its sampler-like look, might, at first sight, be taken for needlework.

Pieceof Silk and Linen Damask; pattern, rich, broad and flowing, in crimson, on a gold ground. Genoese, late 16th century. 2 feet 4 inches by 1 foot 11½ inches.

This gives us a fine specimen of Italian weaving in the middle or latter portion of the 16th century. So rich, and so solid in materials, it is as bold as it is, at first sight, attractive in its design, and shows indications of that strap-shaped ornamentation which soon afterwards became so conspicuous in all cut-work, especially so in bookbindings, all over Western Europe. Such stuffs were mostly used for hangings on the walls of state-rooms and the backs of the stalls in churches, as well as for curtains at the sides of altars.

Pieceof Silk Damask; pattern, of the 16th century revival character, in crimson upon a yellow ground; probably a border to some other stuff. Florentine, end of the 16th century, 10½ inches by 5½ inches.

Pieceof Linen and Woollen Damask, white and green; the pattern, birds, oak-leaves, and acorns. North Italian, end of the 16th century. 7 inches by 5 inches.

Though made out of such humble materials as linen-thread and worsted, this charming little piece of stuff cannot fail in drawing upon itself the eye of the observer, by the beauty and elegance which it has about it.

LinenNapkin, or rather Sindon or Pyx-cloth, the borders embroidered with coloured silks and silver-thread. Perhaps Flemish, 16th century. 18½ inches by 16½ inches.

In more senses than one this small linen cloth is of great value, being, in the first place, a liturgical appliance of the mediæval period, now unused in this form, certainly unique in this country, and hardly ever to be met with on the continent, either in private hands or public collections. According to ancient English custom, the pyx containing particles of the Blessed Eucharist for giving, at all hours of day or night, the Holy Communion to the dying, and kept hanging up over the high altar of every church in this land, was overspread with one of such fine linen and embroidered veils, as may be seen in an illumination from the “Life of St. Edmund, King and Martyr,” in the Harley Collection, British Museum, and engraved in the “Church of our Fathers,” t. iv. p. 206.The readers of English history will, no doubt, feel an interest in this specimen, when they learn that, with such a linen napkin, MaryQueen of Scots had her face muffled just before she laid her head upon the block: “Then the maid, Kennedy, took a handkerchief, edged with gold, in which the Eucharist had formerly been enclosed, and fastened it over her eyes.” “Pict. Hist. of England, ed. Knight,” t. ii. p. 671. Knight is wrong in saying that the Holy Eucharist had ever been immediately enclosed in this cloth, which is only the veil that used to be cast over the pyx or small vessel in which the consecrated hosts were kept, as we observed in the introduction, § 5.

The readers of English history will, no doubt, feel an interest in this specimen, when they learn that, with such a linen napkin, MaryQueen of Scots had her face muffled just before she laid her head upon the block: “Then the maid, Kennedy, took a handkerchief, edged with gold, in which the Eucharist had formerly been enclosed, and fastened it over her eyes.” “Pict. Hist. of England, ed. Knight,” t. ii. p. 671. Knight is wrong in saying that the Holy Eucharist had ever been immediately enclosed in this cloth, which is only the veil that used to be cast over the pyx or small vessel in which the consecrated hosts were kept, as we observed in the introduction, § 5.

Pieceof Linen Damask; pattern, of the pomegranate type, with a border of an armorial shield repeated, and the initials C. L. An edging of lace is attached to one end. Flemish, middle of the 16th century. 17¼ inches by 13 inches.

The shield is party per pale; in the first, two bars counter-embattled; in the second, a chevron charged with three escallop shells.Most likely this small piece of Flemish napery served as the finger-cloth or little napkin with which, when saying mass, the priest dried the tips of his fingers after washing them, the while he said that prayer, “Munda me, Domine,” &c. in the Salisbury Missal; “Church of our Fathers,” t. iv. p. 150. By the rubrics of the Roman Missal, the priest was, and yet is, directed to say, at the ritual washing of his hands, that portion of the 25th Psalm, which begins, verse 6, “Lavabo manus meas,” &c. “Hierurgia,” p. 21; hence these small liturgical towels got, and still keep, the name of Lavabo cloths or Lavaboes, especially in all those countries where the Roman Missal is in use.

The shield is party per pale; in the first, two bars counter-embattled; in the second, a chevron charged with three escallop shells.

Most likely this small piece of Flemish napery served as the finger-cloth or little napkin with which, when saying mass, the priest dried the tips of his fingers after washing them, the while he said that prayer, “Munda me, Domine,” &c. in the Salisbury Missal; “Church of our Fathers,” t. iv. p. 150. By the rubrics of the Roman Missal, the priest was, and yet is, directed to say, at the ritual washing of his hands, that portion of the 25th Psalm, which begins, verse 6, “Lavabo manus meas,” &c. “Hierurgia,” p. 21; hence these small liturgical towels got, and still keep, the name of Lavabo cloths or Lavaboes, especially in all those countries where the Roman Missal is in use.

Pieceof Silk Damask; ground, blue and yellow; pattern, a large conventional flower, with heraldic shields, helmets, and crests. Italian, late 16th century. 1 foot 8½ inches by 13 inches.

The shields show a pale; the helmets are given sidewise with the beaver closed; and the crests, a demi-wyvern segeant, but with no wreath under it, doubtless to show the armorial bearings of the esquireor gentleman of blood, as, according to the readings of English blasonry, he could have been of no higher degree, for whom this stuff had been woven.

Fragmentof an Ecclesiastical Vestment; ground, cloth of gold, diapered with an elaborate flower-pattern. French, middle of the 16th century. 2 feet 1¼ inches by 1 foot 9 inches.

This valuable specimen of cloth of gold is figured, in small red lines, with a free and well-designed pattern, and shows us how much above modern French and Italian toca and lama d’oro were those fine old cloth of gold stuffs which, in the 16th century, became so variously employed for secular purposes. Let the reader imagine a vast round royal tent of such a textile with the banner of a king fluttering over it, and then he may well conceive why the meadow upon which it stood was called “the field of the cloth of gold.”

Pieceof Silk and Linen Damask, green and yellow; pattern, a small conventional flower, probably a furniture stuff. Italian, late 16th century. 10 inches by 7½ inches.

Pieceof Silk Damask, blue and yellow; pattern of flowers. French, late 16th century. 8 inches square.

In the design of the pattern there is evidently a wish to indicate the national fleur-de-lis.

Portionof a Housing or Saddle-cloth, grey velvet, embroidered with interlaced patterns in silver and gold thread. In one corner is an armorial shield in silver and coloured silks. Spanish, middle of the 16th century. 1 foot 8½ inches by 6½ inches.

Very probably the blazon of the shield on this curious horse-furniture may be the canting arms of its primitive owner; and it isargent, a hoopoeguleson a mountvert.

Pieceof Silk Damask; green, with the pomegranate pattern. French, end of the 16th century. 2 feet 7 inches by 1 foot 7 inches.

EmbroideredGirdle; pattern, rectangular, in gold and silver threads and crimson silk; there are long gold tassels at the ends. French, late 16th century. 6 feet 3 inches by ⅞ inch.

Most likely a liturgical girdle, for the use of which see “Hierurgia,” p. 426, 2nd edition, and “Church of our Fathers,” t. i. p. 448. Such ecclesiastical appliances are now become great rarities, and though this one is very modern, it is not less valuable on that account. The only other good example known in England is the very fine and ancient one kept, in Durham Cathedral Library, among the remains of those rich old vestments found upon the body of a bishop mistaken, by Mr. Raine, for that of St. Cuthbert. Flat girdles, whenever used in the Latin rite, were narrow; while those of the Greek and Oriental liturgies are much broader.

LinenCloth; pattern, a white diaper lozenge. Flemish, end of the 16th century. Shape, oval, diameters 22 inches and 17 inches.

Though of so simple a pattern the design is pleasing, and well brought out.

Pieceof Silk Damask, sky-blue and white; pattern, intersecting ribbons with flowers in the spaces. French, late 16th century. 9¾ inches by 4¾ inches.

A very agreeable specimen of the taste of the period and country, as well as grateful to the eye for the combination and management of its two colours in such a way that neither overmatches the other—a beauty often forgotten by the designers of textiles, but to be found in several other examples of the mediæval loom in this collection.

Dalmaticof Yellow Silk, damasked with a pattern of the pomegranate form, in raised velvet, of a lightish green tint. The tissue, Italian, late 15th century; the embroidery and inscriptions, German, late 15th century. 7 feet 8 inches by 4 feet 3 inches.

This fine dalmatic—for the liturgical use of which the reader may consult the “Church of our Fathers,” t. i. p. 375—is rather curious for the way in which the two very singular tassels hanging on the back from the shoulders are ornamented. These usual appendages are in this instance made of remarkably long (15 inches) flakes of white, red, and deep-brown silken thread, and, instead of silk nobs at the end of the cords, have large round balls of rock crystal. The orphreys, or stripes, down both sides, before and behind, are 2½ inches broad, woven in gold and charged with squares of flower-bearing trees, and inscribed in blue with “Jhesus,” “Maria.” The fringes on the two lower borders of the dalmatic, 3½ inches deep, are alternately red, green, white, and blue, and those on the sides and around the sleeves are much narrower. The sleeves themselves from being 18 inches wide at the shoulder become as narrow as 12 inches towards the wrist. The two apparels on the upper part, before and behind, are woven in gold, and measure 16½ inches in length, and 5¼ inches in breadth; the one on the back just under the neck is figured with three golden-grounded squares, the centre one ornamented with a crimson quatrefoil, barbed, and enclosing a various-coloured conventional flower; the other two, with a greentree blossomed with red flowers: the apparel across the breast is inscribed with the names, in large blue letters, of “Jhesus,” “Maria.” Half way down the back hangs, transversely, a shield of arms quarterly, one and fourgules, two barsargent, between seven fleurs-de-lis,or, three, two, and two; two and three,sabletwo bars,argent: as a crest, a full-forward open-faced helmet, with six bars all gold, surmounted by a pair of horns barredsableandargent, with mantlings of the same. This blazon, according to English heraldry, would indicate that the giver of this splendid vestment—and very likely it was only one of a large set—could boast, by showing the golden five-barred full-forward helmet, of royal blood in his pedigree, and was not lower than a Duke in title. Dr. Bock has figured this finely-preserved dalmatic in his “Geschichte der Liturgischen Gewänder des Mittelalters,” 4 Lieferung, pt. vii. fig. 1.

ACope of Crimson Raised Velvet; pattern of the so-called pomegranate design. The orphreys and hood embroidered on a golden ground; the latter with the death of the Blessed Virgin Mary; the former, with various saints. Velvet, Spanish, the embroidery, German, both of the end of the 15th century. 10 feet 8 inches by 5 feet 8 inches.

The velvet, both for its ruby tone and richness of pile, is remarkable, while its design of the pattern is efficiently shown.The hood which, it should be observed by those curious in liturgical garments, runs right through the orphreys quite up to the neck, is an elaborate and well-wrought piece of needlework; and strongly reminds one of the picture of the same subject—the death-bed of the Mother of our Lord—by Martin Schön, now in the National Gallery. All the Apostles are supposed to be gathered round her; to the right of the spectator stands St. Peter sprinkling her with holy water from the silver sprinkle in his right hand; next to this chief celebrant is St. John, the acolyte, with the holy water stoop in his left hand, and in his right the lighted taper, which he is about to put into the hand of his adopted mother—an emblem of the lighted lamp with which each wise virgin in the Gospel awaited the coming of the bridegroom. Behind him again, and with his back turned, is another apostle, blowing into the half-extinguished thurible, which he is raising to his mouth; the rest ofthe Apostles are nicely grouped around. The ground of this hood is of rich gold thread, and the figures of the scene are separately wrought and afterwards “applied.” The orphreys, that are rather narrow, measuring only 5½ inches in breadth, are of a golden web and figured, on the right hand side, with St. Mary Magdalen, carrying a box of ointment in her hands; St. Bernadin of Siena, holding a circular radiated disc inscribed with I.H.S. in his right hand, and in his left a Latin cross; St. Bicta—for so the inscription seems to read—bearing the martyr’s branch of palm in her right hand, and a sword thrust through her throat; and St. Kymbertus in a cope, with a crozier in his right hand, and in his left a closed book: on the left hand orphrey, St. Elizabeth, the Queen of Hungary, with a child’s article of dress in one hand, and a royal crown upon her head; St. Severinus, wearing a mitre and cope, and holding in his right hand a crozier, in his left a church; St. Ursula, with the martyr’s palm in one hand; in the other a long large silver arrow, and having six of her martyred virgins at her sides; and St. John Baptist, with the “Lamb of God” on the palm of his left hand, and the forefinger of the right outstretched as pointing to it. The heads of all these figures are done in silk and “applied,” but the hands and diapering of the garments, as well as the emblems, are wrought by the needle, in gold or in silk, upon the golden web-ground of these orphreys. At the lower part of the hood is “applied” a shield—no doubt the armorials of the giver of this fine cope—party per pale—gulestwo chevronelsargent, a chiefor—azurethree garbs (one lost),argent, two and one.

The velvet, both for its ruby tone and richness of pile, is remarkable, while its design of the pattern is efficiently shown.

The hood which, it should be observed by those curious in liturgical garments, runs right through the orphreys quite up to the neck, is an elaborate and well-wrought piece of needlework; and strongly reminds one of the picture of the same subject—the death-bed of the Mother of our Lord—by Martin Schön, now in the National Gallery. All the Apostles are supposed to be gathered round her; to the right of the spectator stands St. Peter sprinkling her with holy water from the silver sprinkle in his right hand; next to this chief celebrant is St. John, the acolyte, with the holy water stoop in his left hand, and in his right the lighted taper, which he is about to put into the hand of his adopted mother—an emblem of the lighted lamp with which each wise virgin in the Gospel awaited the coming of the bridegroom. Behind him again, and with his back turned, is another apostle, blowing into the half-extinguished thurible, which he is raising to his mouth; the rest ofthe Apostles are nicely grouped around. The ground of this hood is of rich gold thread, and the figures of the scene are separately wrought and afterwards “applied.” The orphreys, that are rather narrow, measuring only 5½ inches in breadth, are of a golden web and figured, on the right hand side, with St. Mary Magdalen, carrying a box of ointment in her hands; St. Bernadin of Siena, holding a circular radiated disc inscribed with I.H.S. in his right hand, and in his left a Latin cross; St. Bicta—for so the inscription seems to read—bearing the martyr’s branch of palm in her right hand, and a sword thrust through her throat; and St. Kymbertus in a cope, with a crozier in his right hand, and in his left a closed book: on the left hand orphrey, St. Elizabeth, the Queen of Hungary, with a child’s article of dress in one hand, and a royal crown upon her head; St. Severinus, wearing a mitre and cope, and holding in his right hand a crozier, in his left a church; St. Ursula, with the martyr’s palm in one hand; in the other a long large silver arrow, and having six of her martyred virgins at her sides; and St. John Baptist, with the “Lamb of God” on the palm of his left hand, and the forefinger of the right outstretched as pointing to it. The heads of all these figures are done in silk and “applied,” but the hands and diapering of the garments, as well as the emblems, are wrought by the needle, in gold or in silk, upon the golden web-ground of these orphreys. At the lower part of the hood is “applied” a shield—no doubt the armorials of the giver of this fine cope—party per pale—gulestwo chevronelsargent, a chiefor—azurethree garbs (one lost),argent, two and one.

Chasubleof Damask Cloth of Gold; the orphreys figured with arabesques in coloured silk upon a golden ground, and busts of saints embroidered in coloured silks within circles of gold. There is a shield of arms on the body of the vestment, on the left side. French, 17th century. 7 feet 3 inches by 2 feet 4 inches.

The cloth of gold is none of the richest, and may have been woven at Lyons; but the orphreys are good specimens of their time: that on the back of this vestment, 4¾ inches in width, and made in a cross, shows a female saint holding a sword in her right hand, and in her lefta two-masted boat—perhaps St. Mary Magdalen, in reference to her penitence and voyage to France; St. John with a cup, and the demon serpent coming up out of it; the Empress Helen carrying a cross (?). The orphrey in front, three inches broad, gives us, in smaller circles, St. Simon the apostle with his saw; a female saint (Hedwiges?) holding a cross; and two prophets, each with a rolled-up scroll in his hand. On the back, and far apart from the orphrey, is a shieldargent(nicely diapered), a chevronsablebetween three leaves slippedvert, hanging as it does on the left hand, it may be presumed there was another shield on the right, but it is gone. This chasuble, small as it is now, must have been sadly reduced across the shoulders, from its original breadth.

Pieceof Carpet, of wool and hemp; ground, red; pattern, boughs, and flowers, in blue, and the so-called pomegranate, blue with a large yellow flower in the middle; border, two stripes blue barred with yellow, one stripe yellow barred red. Spanish, 16th century. 3 feet 10 inches by 3 feet 7 inches.

In every way like the following specimen of carpeting, with its warp of hempen thread; and originally employed for the same purpose of being spread up the steps leading to the altar, but more especially upon the uppermost or last one for the celebrant to stand on.

Pieceof Carpet; ground, dark blue; pattern, a large so-called pomegranate design in light blue, spotted with flower-like circles, white and crimson (now faded). At each end it has a border in red, blue, green, white, and yellow lines. Spanish, 16th century. 9 feet 3 inches by 8 feet 6 inches.

The warp, as in the foregoing example, is of hempen thread, the woof of worsted; and this textile was woven in breadths 4 feet 3 inches wide. In all likelihood this piece of carpeting, valuable because veryrare now, served as the covering for the steps that led up to the altar, and corresponded to what in some old English church inventories were called pedalia, or pede-cloths:—“Church of our Fathers,” i. 268. Finer sorts were spread on high feast days upon the long form where sat the precentor with his assistant rulers of the choir, or upon the stools which they separately occupied. Ib. ii. 202.

LiturgicalCloth of grey linen thread, figured all over with subjects from the New Testament, angels, apostles, flowers, and monsters. Rhenish, end of the 14th century. 10 feet by 3 feet.

This curious and valuable piece, of the kind denominated “opus araneum,” or spider-web, is very likely the oldest as well as one among the very finest specimens yet known of that peculiar sort of needlework. The design is divided into two lengths, one much shorter than the other, and reversed; thus evidently proving that its original use was to cover, not the altar, but the lectern, upon which the Evangeliarium, or Book of the Gospels, is put at high mass for the deacon to sing the gospel from: judging by the subjects wrought upon it, and in white, it appears to have been intended more especially for the daily high mass, chaunted in many places every morning in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary.Beginning at the lower part of the longer length, we see an angel, vested like a deacon, in an appareled and girded alb, playing the violin, then six apostles—St. Simon with the fuller’s bat in his hand, St. Matthias with sword and book, St. James the Greater with pilgrim’s bourdon or staff, St. Jude, or Thaddeus, with club and book, St. Andrew with book and saltire cross, St. Thomas with spear; then another like vested angel sounding a guitar—all of which figures are standing in a row amid oak boughs and flowery branches. Higher up, and within a large quatrefoil encircled by the words:—☩ “Magnificat: Anima: mea: Dominum;” the Visitation, or the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Elizabeth, both with outstretched hands, one towards the other, the first as a virgin with her hair hanging down upon her shoulders, the second having her head shrouded in a hood like a married woman; they stand amid lily-bearing stems (suggested by the lesson read on that festival from Canticles ii.); in each of the north and southpetals of the quatrefoil is a kneeling angel, deacon-vested, holding in each hand a bell, which he is ringing, while in the east and west petals are other like-robed angels, both incensing with a thurible. Outside the quatrefoil are represented within circles at the south-west corner the British St. Ursula—one of the patron saints of Cologne—standing with a book in one hand, and an arrow in the other; at the south-east corner St. Helen (?), with cross and book; at the north-west, St. Lucy with book and pincers; at the north-east, a virgin martyr, with a book and a branch of palm. At each of the angles, in the corners between the petals, is an open crown. Above stands in the middle a double-handled vase, between two wyverns, jessant oak branches. Over this species of heraldic border is another large quatrefoil arranged in precisely the same manner: the angels—two with bells, two with thuribles—are there, so too are the corner crowns, within and encircled by the words ☩ Gloria: in: exc(e)l(s)is: Deo: et: in: terr(a), we have the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, after this manner: seated upon a throne is our Lord in majesty, that is, crowned and holding the mund or ball surmounted by a cross in His left hand; with His right He is giving His blessing to His mother, who is seated also on the same throne, crowned, with her hair about her shoulders, and with hands upraised to Him as in the act of prayer. At the top, to the left, is St. Catherine, with a sword in one hand, a wheel armed with spikes in the other; to the right, St. Dorothy, with a blooming branch in one hand and in the other a basket—made like a cup with foot and stem—full of flowers; below, St. Barbara, with tower and palm-branch, in the left side; on the other, St. Mary Magdalen, with an ointment box and palm. Here the design is reversed, and very properly so, as otherwise it would be, when thrown over the lectern, upside down; and curiously enough, just at this place there is a large hole, caused, as is clear, by this part of the needlework being worn away from the continual rubbing of some boss or ornament at the top of the folding lectern, which most likely was wrought in iron. This shorter length of the design—that portion which hung behind—begins with the double-handled vase and two wyverns, and has but one quatrefoil arranged like the other two in the front part: within the circle inscribed ☩ Ecce: ancilla: Domini: fiat: michi—we see the Annunciation; kneeling before a low reading desk, with an open book upon it, is the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the Holy Ghost under the form of a nimbed dove coming down from heaven, signified by the nebulæ or clouds, upon her; and turning about with arms wide apart, as if in wonderment, she is listening to Gabriel on his knees and speaking his message inthose words:—ave: gracia: ple(na), traced upon the scroll, which, with both his hands, he holds before him. In the corners of the petals are, at top, to the left, a female saint, with a cross in one hand, a closed book in the other; to the right, a female saint with palm-branch and book; below, to the left, a female saint—St. Martina, V. M.—with book and a two-pronged and barbed fork; on the right, a female saint with a book, and cup with a lid. As the other end began, so this ends, with a row of eight figures, of which two are angels robed as deacons, one playing the violin, the other the guitar; then come six apostles—St. John the Evangelist exorcising the poisoned cup; St. Bartholomew, with book in one hand and flaying knife in the other; St. Peter, with book and key; St. Paul, with book and sword held upwards; St. Matthew, with sword held downwards, and book; St. Philip, with book and cross.The figures within the quatrefoils and of the apostles are about seven inches high; those of the female saints—all virgins, as is shown by the hair hanging in long tresses about their shoulders—measure six inches. The spaces between are filled in with branches of five-petaled and barbed roses, and at both ends there originally hung a prettily knotted long fringe. All the female saints are dressed in gowns with very long remarkable sleeves—a fashion in woman’s attire which prevailed at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries.The exact way in which these now very rare specimens of mediæval needlework used to be employed in the celebration of the liturgy, may be seen, by a glance, on looking at any of those engravings in which are figured a few of those old lecterns; made either of light thin wood, or iron, or of bronze, so as they could be easily folded up: they were thus with readiness carried about from one part to another of the choir, or chancel, even by a boy. When set down the veil was cast over them. Some of our own archæological works afford us good examples of such lecterns; as fine, if not finer, are those two which M. Viollet Le Duc has given in his instructive “Dictionnaire du Mobilier Français,” t. i. pp. 162, 163, especially that from the Hotel de Cluny. Speaking of the coverings for such lecterns, he tells that in the treasury of Sens Cathedral there yet may be found one which is, however, according to his admeasurements, much smaller every way than this piece of curious needlework before us. Whether the one now at Sens be of the 10th or 11th century assigned it, far too early date to our thinking, it cannot, to judge from the coloured plate given by M. Viollet Le Duc, be put for a moment in competition with the present one, as an art-work done by the needle. In our own mediæval recordsnotices of such lecterns may be sometimes found; in the choir of Cobham College, Kent,A.D.1479, there was such an article of church furniture, “Church of our Fathers,” ii. 201, and doubtless it was usually covered with a veil.

Beginning at the lower part of the longer length, we see an angel, vested like a deacon, in an appareled and girded alb, playing the violin, then six apostles—St. Simon with the fuller’s bat in his hand, St. Matthias with sword and book, St. James the Greater with pilgrim’s bourdon or staff, St. Jude, or Thaddeus, with club and book, St. Andrew with book and saltire cross, St. Thomas with spear; then another like vested angel sounding a guitar—all of which figures are standing in a row amid oak boughs and flowery branches. Higher up, and within a large quatrefoil encircled by the words:—☩ “Magnificat: Anima: mea: Dominum;” the Visitation, or the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Elizabeth, both with outstretched hands, one towards the other, the first as a virgin with her hair hanging down upon her shoulders, the second having her head shrouded in a hood like a married woman; they stand amid lily-bearing stems (suggested by the lesson read on that festival from Canticles ii.); in each of the north and southpetals of the quatrefoil is a kneeling angel, deacon-vested, holding in each hand a bell, which he is ringing, while in the east and west petals are other like-robed angels, both incensing with a thurible. Outside the quatrefoil are represented within circles at the south-west corner the British St. Ursula—one of the patron saints of Cologne—standing with a book in one hand, and an arrow in the other; at the south-east corner St. Helen (?), with cross and book; at the north-west, St. Lucy with book and pincers; at the north-east, a virgin martyr, with a book and a branch of palm. At each of the angles, in the corners between the petals, is an open crown. Above stands in the middle a double-handled vase, between two wyverns, jessant oak branches. Over this species of heraldic border is another large quatrefoil arranged in precisely the same manner: the angels—two with bells, two with thuribles—are there, so too are the corner crowns, within and encircled by the words ☩ Gloria: in: exc(e)l(s)is: Deo: et: in: terr(a), we have the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, after this manner: seated upon a throne is our Lord in majesty, that is, crowned and holding the mund or ball surmounted by a cross in His left hand; with His right He is giving His blessing to His mother, who is seated also on the same throne, crowned, with her hair about her shoulders, and with hands upraised to Him as in the act of prayer. At the top, to the left, is St. Catherine, with a sword in one hand, a wheel armed with spikes in the other; to the right, St. Dorothy, with a blooming branch in one hand and in the other a basket—made like a cup with foot and stem—full of flowers; below, St. Barbara, with tower and palm-branch, in the left side; on the other, St. Mary Magdalen, with an ointment box and palm. Here the design is reversed, and very properly so, as otherwise it would be, when thrown over the lectern, upside down; and curiously enough, just at this place there is a large hole, caused, as is clear, by this part of the needlework being worn away from the continual rubbing of some boss or ornament at the top of the folding lectern, which most likely was wrought in iron. This shorter length of the design—that portion which hung behind—begins with the double-handled vase and two wyverns, and has but one quatrefoil arranged like the other two in the front part: within the circle inscribed ☩ Ecce: ancilla: Domini: fiat: michi—we see the Annunciation; kneeling before a low reading desk, with an open book upon it, is the Blessed Virgin Mary, with the Holy Ghost under the form of a nimbed dove coming down from heaven, signified by the nebulæ or clouds, upon her; and turning about with arms wide apart, as if in wonderment, she is listening to Gabriel on his knees and speaking his message inthose words:—ave: gracia: ple(na), traced upon the scroll, which, with both his hands, he holds before him. In the corners of the petals are, at top, to the left, a female saint, with a cross in one hand, a closed book in the other; to the right, a female saint with palm-branch and book; below, to the left, a female saint—St. Martina, V. M.—with book and a two-pronged and barbed fork; on the right, a female saint with a book, and cup with a lid. As the other end began, so this ends, with a row of eight figures, of which two are angels robed as deacons, one playing the violin, the other the guitar; then come six apostles—St. John the Evangelist exorcising the poisoned cup; St. Bartholomew, with book in one hand and flaying knife in the other; St. Peter, with book and key; St. Paul, with book and sword held upwards; St. Matthew, with sword held downwards, and book; St. Philip, with book and cross.

The figures within the quatrefoils and of the apostles are about seven inches high; those of the female saints—all virgins, as is shown by the hair hanging in long tresses about their shoulders—measure six inches. The spaces between are filled in with branches of five-petaled and barbed roses, and at both ends there originally hung a prettily knotted long fringe. All the female saints are dressed in gowns with very long remarkable sleeves—a fashion in woman’s attire which prevailed at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries.

The exact way in which these now very rare specimens of mediæval needlework used to be employed in the celebration of the liturgy, may be seen, by a glance, on looking at any of those engravings in which are figured a few of those old lecterns; made either of light thin wood, or iron, or of bronze, so as they could be easily folded up: they were thus with readiness carried about from one part to another of the choir, or chancel, even by a boy. When set down the veil was cast over them. Some of our own archæological works afford us good examples of such lecterns; as fine, if not finer, are those two which M. Viollet Le Duc has given in his instructive “Dictionnaire du Mobilier Français,” t. i. pp. 162, 163, especially that from the Hotel de Cluny. Speaking of the coverings for such lecterns, he tells that in the treasury of Sens Cathedral there yet may be found one which is, however, according to his admeasurements, much smaller every way than this piece of curious needlework before us. Whether the one now at Sens be of the 10th or 11th century assigned it, far too early date to our thinking, it cannot, to judge from the coloured plate given by M. Viollet Le Duc, be put for a moment in competition with the present one, as an art-work done by the needle. In our own mediæval recordsnotices of such lecterns may be sometimes found; in the choir of Cobham College, Kent,A.D.1479, there was such an article of church furniture, “Church of our Fathers,” ii. 201, and doubtless it was usually covered with a veil.

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