Velvet with Gold Disks in offset rows
Description
Traditionally these red velvets patterned with gold disks in offset rows have been dated to the 15th century from Italy and Spain. Recently an Islamic provenance, perhaps in Tabriz, and a 13th century date have been proposed. Whatever the source, this pattern was much used in ecclesiastical vestment (Wardwell lists seven inventory entries describing patterns with disks, including several papal inventories, Clement V, Boniface VIII, etc.). A large number of such fragments are found in museum collections (the Art Institute of Chicago, the Musee de Tissus in Lyons, the Bargello in Florence, etc.).
Literature
Sonday, 1999-2000, pp. 101-151; and Wardwell, 1989, fig. 57, p. 111.