8338.
Part of an Orphrey; ground, gold thread, with ornamentation, in silk, of a rosette, a tree with flowers, and the inscriptions—"Ave Regina Celorum," and "Jhesus." Cologne work, late 15th century. 22-1/2 inches by 3-3/4 inches.
Much, in style, like No. 8320.
8338A.
Part of an Orphrey, woven in silk upon linen; ground, red; pattern, in gold thread upon blue silk. Cologne work, 15th century. 15-1/2 inches by 4-1/2 inches.
This and the piece immediately preceding afford us one of the
peculiarities of the German loom, and, in all likelihood, were woven
at Cologne, the great manufacturing centre of Germany in the middle
ages. Such webs were wrought for the orphreys of chasubles, copes,
and dalmatics, &c. The design is stiff, and wanting in much of the
elegance to be found in earlier works of the loom, and, from its sampler-*like
look, might, at first sight, be taken for needlework.
8339.
Piece of Silk and Linen Damask; pattern, rich, broad and flowing, in crimson, on a gold ground. Genoese, late 16th century. 2 feet 4 inches by 1 foot 11-1/2 inches.
This gives us a fine specimen of Italian weaving in the middle or
latter portion of the 16th century. So rich, and so solid in materials, it
is as bold as it is, at first sight, attractive in its design, and shows indications
of that strap-shaped ornamentation which soon afterwards became
so conspicuous in all cut-work, especially so in bookbindings, all over
Western Europe. Such stuffs were mostly used for hangings on the
walls of state-rooms and the backs of the stalls in churches, as well as
for curtains at the sides of altars.
