Collar for a Dalmatic - Bought from Dr Schmidtlein, Royal Hotel Blackfriars for £1 4s. Acquired in Mexico. Historical significance: This collar is significant as a example of the impact of the Council of Trent (1545-63) on the design of vestments. While the Council's impact on sculpture and painting is well covered in existing literature on the plastic arts, its interpretation in textiles has largely remained hidden within specialist textile histories (Susan Verdi Webster's work is a recent exception to the rule). This divorce of textiles from the larger picture is unfortunate as priestly appearance was part of the ceremonial around those other more durable objects, and part of the experience of the faithful. The creation of embroidery and the learning of embroidery skills followed a similar path to that of sculpture and painting, and recently serious research has begun on its professional development in certain local centres (e.g. Marta Laguardia's work on Salamanca). Basically, skills were learnt through apprenticeship in a guild and groups of objects were made according to similar specifications (e.g. the workshop of the sculptor Gregorio Fernandez or that of the painter Francisco Zurbaran). Successful execution of standard imagery was valued (where today 'creativity' and 'originality' are highly prized). In some cases, embroidery was learnt in convents and nuns were skilled needlewomen who could make vestments. The Museum owns at least 24 Spanish dalmatic collars made in the 16th and 17th centuries, all acquired between 1870 and 1940. They were presumably purchased for their decorative qualities, and the fine embroidery that adorns them. The imagery varies from purely decorative to symbolic. It seems likely that collars may have survived intact longer than other parts of the dalmatic which may have become damaged during church services or been recycled at a later date.