| P3 has note
| - Vestment.
This chasuble is the vestment (priestly garment) worn by a Catholic priest when celebrating the Mass. It was - and is - worn over the alb and stole.
Prior to the 1960s, the priest stood facing the altar with his back to the congregation, so the back of the chasuble was visible most of the time. The combination of secular and ecclesiastical textiles is not unusual in vestments, the silk being suitable for both secular and ecclesiastical use, the iconography of the embroidered orphreys being specifically ecclesiastical. This chasuble has been made of Italian (or Spanish) velvet, cut down from its original bell shape into the fiddle shape that became popular in the early seventeenth century. The use of two different velvets and the evidence of stitchmarks from previous incarnations do not allow exact identification of the time of making of the garment - but do indicate how highly valued such textiles were even after they had been used. The colour suggests this chasuble would have been worn on the feast days of martyrs.
The velvet on the back is identical to velvets in the Lehman collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and a chasuble in the Schnutgen Museum. It is an elaboration of the basic pomegranate motif, with floral and foliage excretions growing out from the central motif contained within the framing compartments (Thurman, no. 104, p. 179; Museum Schnutgen, no. 27, pp. 142-3).
Orphreys.
The shape of the orphreys (column on the front, y-shaped cross on the back) was typical of the Netherlands till the mid sixteenth century and the Rhineland, according to Johnstone. She asserted that the orphrey was probably from Bohemia (the current Czech Republic, a geographical area encompassing Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia). 'Orphreys of this period frequently shared features of the Rhineland orphreys, the short-armed Gabelkreuz, the realistic wood of the cross, curving rays in the haloes, and so on. The crucifixion scene also shows strong likenesses with the wall paintings at Karlstejn [20 km south of Prague].'(Johnstone, col. pl. XVIII F and p. 42). The same combination of materials, imagery and form is found in the chasuble catalogued as Rhineland, late 15th century in the Schnutgen Museum (Museum Schnutgen, no. 63, pp. 240-1).
A number of objects in the Schnutgen Museum in Cologne conform to this format and style. They are dated to the end of the fifteenth century.(Museum Schnutgen, nos. 9, pp.80-1, 27, pp. 142-3, 30, pp. 151-3.)
Symbolism.
The birds and feathers within the imagery are probably as symbolic as the direct Christian messages from the crucifixion scene. Such associations came from Bestiaries which originated in England in the 11th century, containing tales around real and fantastic animals, often with a moral content.
It seems likely that the bird above the cross is an eagle rather than a cock (as suggested in the original entry in the Accessions Register) because the eagle is specifically associated with St John the Evangelist and the Gospels in general, is the highest flier, and may represent Christ or the human spirit aspiring to God. The cock, in contrast, is sometimes a symbol of vigilance, but is usually associated with St Peter's denial of Christ. This bird lacks the crest of a cock and has a decidedly rapacious appearance, very similar to the outstretched form found on lecterns in churches.
The peacock feathers used for the wings of three of the angels are a common device. Peacocks were symbols of immortality, as the ancients believed that the flesh of the peacock was incorruptible. They appear frequently in Early Christian mosaics.
The significance of Christ's blood in late-medieval Christianity and in depictions of the Crucifixion in different media has been explored recently in the context of Germany and would illuminate the graphic references in the (now faded) blood spurting from Christ's wounds and its collection into chalices by angels. (Caroline Walker Bynum. Wonderful Blood. Theology and practice in late medieval Northern Germany and beyond. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2007).
The colour of the triplets may also be significant. In 'The Curious Law of Precious Stones' George Frederick Kuntz quotes from 'Speculum lapidum', Leonardi, 1502, that rubies 'removed evil thoughts, controlled amorous desires, dissipated pestilential vapours, and reconciled disputes'. So quite apt for a liturgical vestment.
Bibliographic references.
Johnstone, Pauline. High Fashion in the Church. Leeds: Maney, 2002.
Murray, Peter and Linda. Oxford Dictionary of Christian Art. Oxford: OUP, 1996 (for bird symbolism).
Museum Schnutgen, Die Liturgischen Gewander 11. bis 19. Jahrhundert, 2003.
Thurman, Christa C. Mayer. European Textiles in the Robert Lehman Collection. The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Princeton University Press, 2001. (en)
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