Panel
CultureItalian or Spanish
Datelate 15th century
MediumVelvet with silver-gilt thread
DimensionsOverall: 38 × 23 7/8 inches (96.52 × 60.63 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number31-110
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionBlue silk pile in two heights and with loops of silver-gilt thread on a background of silver-gilt thread and yellow silk. Broad wavy golden band with a wreathed branch in the middle ending in a fruit motif with many buds. This main motif is crossed with a gold wreath from which blooming branches, spikey leaves, and thistle buds spring.Exhibition HistoryThreads of Gold: Brocades and Embroideries for the Church, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, July 2-September 1, 1985, no. 8.
The addition of shimmering gold threads to this textile's swirling pattern of floral and foliate motifs was influenced by Near- and Middle-Eastern weaving processes, the styles and patterns of which set the standard for velvet textiles. European weavers, however, adapted the techniques to their own tastes. The use of metallic thread in fabrics, especially velvet, was popular and signified the patrons' wealth and status. On this panel, threads of finely flattened metal strips, wrapped around a silk core, form the golden expanses and tiny loops.
Threads of Gold: Brocades and Embroideries for the Church , exh. cat. (Lawrence, KS: Spencer Museum of Art, 1985), unpaginated.
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