The past three weeks, we have been looking at the embroidered vestments of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Last week, we studied the three magnificent copes, and the week before, we looked at the two antependia. This week, we will examine my favourite piece: the chasuble. Taking pictures of the piece is a little tricky. It is positioned opposite the copes in the Imperial Treasury in Vienna. The lighting levels are lower here, and there is limited space to view the front. However, the or nué embroidery and the design are particularly splendid on this piece. Let’s have a closer look.

As you can see in the pictures, the chasuble (131 x 147 cm) invokes the illusion of being made of the same hexagon ‘fabric’ as the copes. This time, we see three bands of angels radially fan out. On top of this ‘fabric’ sits the chasuble cross. The depiction on the cross on the front is Jesus’ Baptism in the Jordan. The back, seen by the congregation during mass, shows the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor. Whilst the top part of the scenes fits neatly into the shape of the cross, the scene bursts at the bottom. Additional figures are grouped around the base. This is what I particularly like about the designs – there’s so much movement!

The embroidery on the chasuble is particularly sophisticated. The hexagon ‘fabric’ is created in the same way as for the copes. Seperate hexagonal panels featuring angels have been sewn together by adding a golden and red velvet frame. As seen before, the angels are not worked as a slip. Their hands are silk-shaded on top of the gold threads, whereas their heads are embroidered directly onto the linen background. The chasuble crosses are then placed upon this created ‘fabric’. I don’t think the embroidery of the angels runs underneath the cross – there’s no need for that.

The chasuble crosses themselves are made of an embroidered background on which the slips of the figures have been applied. The embroidered background is an embroidered version of a patterned blue brocade fabric. Illusion at its best!

The last embroidered illusion or trick I want to point out to you is Jesus’ face in the Transfiguration scene. Instead of silk-shading the face, the embroiderers used or nué. This perfectly conveys what happened during the Transfiguration: Jesus emitted light with his face shining as the sun. When you have been following my blog for a while, you know that the way things have been embroidered is often important and underlines the story that’s being told. The chasuble of the Order of the Golden Fleece is a prime example of this!

Literature
Schmitz-von Ledebur, K., 2010. Das Messornat des Ordens vom Goldenen Vlies: Sticker im Dienste der burgundischen Herzöge, in: Bergemann, U.-C., Stauffer, A. (Eds.), Reiche Bilder. Aspekte zur Produktion und Funktion von Stickereien im Spätmittelalter. Schnell & Steiner, Regensburg, pp. 25–36.