1277.
The Hood of a Cope; silk and gold; ground, fawn-coloured silk; design, bands, in gold thread, alternately broad, figured with harts couchant, and flowers with an oblique pencil of rays darting down; and narrow, marked with rayless flowers. Underlying the latter gold band is a very broad one of silk, figured in green, with collared dogs running at speed towards a small swan, with sprigs of flowers, green and white, between them. Sicilian, late 13th century. 14-1/2 inches by 13-1/2 inches.
The very pointed shape of this hood is somewhat unusual in the form
of this part of a cope, as made during mediæval times, in England.
The stuff is of a spirited design, and shows a curious element in its
pattern, in those golden flowers with their pencils of rays.
1278.
Silk and Cotton Damask; ground, black; design, a lion rampant amid trees, all in light green. Sicilian, 14th century. 15 inches by 7-3/4 inches.
Very few examples occur with ground coloured black, yet the bright
green of the design goes well upon its sombre grounding. The animal
and also the leaves and trees around him are all admirably and spiritedly
drawn, and one regrets that a pattern of such merit should have been
lost upon such poor materials.
1279.
Silk and Gold Damask; ground, bright green silk; design, in gold, conventional artichokes, large and small, and harts, and demi-dogs with very large wings, both animals having remarkably long manes streaming far behind them. Sicilian, 14th century. 27 inches by 14 inches.
This beautifully and richly wrought stuff, with its fantastic design
