Chasuble

The foliage gives the cloth a system of netting, joined with flowers and crowns. There is an alternating motif of thistles enclosed either by acanthus leaves and flowers of six petals or by sharp leaves and cornflowers in each oval-shaped field. Some of these floral motifs are further enriched with geometrical decoration of squares or triangles. The first type of this pattern was woven in the 1530s and was popular for about a century. At first the fields were longer and keel-shaped later they got rounder and shorter. Opinions differ as to the original workshop of this velvet: some believe, in view of the execution technique, that it was made in Genoa others think it was woven in Florence, since most of these types were found in the churches around Tuscany. There are also some who think it is Spanish, the work of Genoan weavers who settled in Spain. Similar cloths can be found in the following collections: Prato, Museo del Tessuto Florence, Museo del Bargello Rome, Museo di Palazzo Venezia Modena, Museo Civico, Venice, Museo Correr London, Victoria and Albert Museum Brussels, Musée Royaux: d'Art et d'Histoire Paris, Musée des Arts Décoratifs Lyon, Musée des Tissus Hamburg, Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Krefeld, Textilmuseum Dresden, Kunstgewerbemuseum: Boston, The Art Museum Milan, Civiche Raccolte d'Arte Applicata.