Cleveland Museum of Art

Scenes of the Life of the Virgin, from an Altar Frontal

Date: 1330s or 1340s
Medium: Silk, gold thread, linen; raised work, embroidery: split, stem, running, fishbone, and couching stitches
Culture: Italy, Florence
Department: Textiles
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID: 149376

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

This rare panel originally hung above a large embroidery that decorated the front of an altar in a church. The narrative begins with the Virgin’s parents and her early life; that panel is now in the Toledo Museum of Art. Cleveland’s portion continues the story with the Annunciation of the Virgin, Adoration of the Shepherds, Adoration of the Magi, Presentation of Christ, Christ among the Doctors, and the Assumption of the Virgin. The Death of the Virgin scene is likely missing. Painters usually sketched designs on stretched linen for embroiderers. Gold thread enriches the background and is secured in place with couching stitches in a small brick pattern.

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Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line: Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Provenance: Robert von Hirsch, Basel; The Robert von Hirsch Collection, Sotheby's, London, June 22, 1978, lot 266.

Part of a LinkedCulture topic

Islamic World Carpets and Rugs
These objects are all hand-woven carpets and rugs from regions across the Islamic world, including Persia, Turkey, the Caucasus, Central Asia, India, and North Africa, showcasing traditional textile techniques like knott
95 objects from 5 institutions