7076.
Raised Velvet and Gold; pattern, conventional flowers in gold, upon tawny-coloured velvet. Genoese, late 15th century. 12 inches by 8 inches.
The gold of the design is, in parts, nicely diapered; and the gold
thread itself thin, and now rather tarnished.
7077.
Raised Crimson Velvet; pattern, an artichoke amid flowers. Genoese, late 15th century. 16-1/2 inches by 11-1/2 inches.
The pile is rich; and when it is borne in mind how the Emperor
Charles V. honoured Andrea Dorea, it is not surprising that his countrymen
had a partiality for the Spanish emblem of their great captain's admirer.
7078.
Raised Blue Velvet; ground, deep blue; pattern, within an outlined seven-petaled floriation in silk, an artichoke, with sprigs of flowers shooting out of it. Genoese, late 15th century. 17-1/2 inches by 10-1/4 inches.
Though much worn by hard usage, this stuff is of a pleasing effect,
owing to its agreeable design, which not unfrequently occurs perfect,
and consists of a kind of circle in narrow lines, somewhat in the shape
of a flower, but having at the tips of its prominent feathering cusps of
florets.
7079.
Figured Blue Velvet; embroidered in gold thread, with cinquefoils, enclosing a floriation of the artichoke form, with smaller ones around it. Spanish, 15th century. 15 inches by 9-1/2 inches.
By the shape of this piece it must have been cut off from the end
of a chasuble. Though the velvet is rich, the embroidery is poor, done
as it is in thin outline, but still of a good form.
