Cleveland Museum of Art

Apparel from a Dalmatic

Date

1500s

Medium

Silk, gold thread; embroidery: or nué (shaded gold)

Culture

Italy, Florence, 16th century

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

The artist who drew this pattern created expressive facial features that a master embroiderer conveyed with silk stitches. That high level was probably achieved by an embroiderer specializing in faces, hair, and skin. The draped clothing was created by varying the density of silk thread crossing over the gold thread. Embroidered scenes in rectangular panels, known as apparel, were made with luxurious thread to decorate tunic-shaped ecclesiastical garments, or dalmatics. An apparel was placed at the ends of sleeves, as seen in a nearby example, and on the front and back above the hem.

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