Cleveland Museum of Art

Apparel from a Dalmatic

Date

early 1500s

Medium

Silk, gold and silver thread; embroidery

Culture

Italy, early 16th century

Department

Textiles

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This lavishly enriched embroidery, known as an apparel, is part of a set that originally embellished a dalmatic, an ecclesiastical garment, one on the front above the hem and another on the back. Gold and silver thread form the striking strapwork, or interlaced scrolls, of blossoms and leaves. The variety of stitches would have made the embroidery sparkle in low light levels, such as in a candlelit church. Some are worked in straight lines, others in curved contours, while still others create more textured basket-weave effects.

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