Chasuble (1675–99): Art, History and Details

Chasuble (1675–99) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This rare chasuble decorated with angels, musicians, pomegranates, and flowers represents Sacred and Profane Love. This is indicated by two figures—a clear-sighted figure embracing a blindfolded figure—standing on a globe in the upper center and also by the musicians. The angels play soft-sounding instruments (harpsichords, harps, viole da barccio, and flutes) while earthy figures play loud instruments (tambours and hunting horns). The chasuble was most likely part of a liturgical set commissioned for a wedding. This entire chasuble is embroidered with silk and metal thread laid over linen and stitched in place. The exceptionally fine workmanship, lavish use of gold and silver, and brilliant silk thread create this sumptuous vestment.

Object facts

• Title: Chasuble
• Date: 1675–99
• Culture: Germany, Bavaria, last quarter of 17th century
• Type: Embroidery
• Technique: Silk and metallic threads on silk tabby sewn down on a linen tabby ground; embroidery
• Dimensions: Overall: 116.9 x 78.1 cm (46 x 30 3/4 in.)
• Collection: T - Ecclesiastical
• Department: Textiles
• Accession number: 1971.235

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Wardwell, Anne E. "Love's a Good Musician." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 60, no. 10 (1973).
• Mayer-Thurman, Christa C., John Maxon, Aidan Kavanagh, Donald L. Garfield, and Horace T. Allen. Raiment for the Lord's Service: A Thousand Years of Western Vestments. Chicago: Art Institute, 1975.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.