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Altar Frontal

A work made of silk and gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, 4:1 satin damask weave with supplementary brocading wefts bound by main warps in weft-float faced 1:4 's' interlacing; edged with gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, plain weave with supplementary patterning warps and extended ground weft uncut fringe and silk, gilt-metal-strip and gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, stripes of plain weave with supplementary patterning warps and of 2:2 'z' twill weave with extended ground weft, wrapped, knotted uncut fringe; lining: silk, plain weave.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of silk and gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, 4:1 satin damask weave with supplementary brocading wefts bound by main warps in weft-float faced 1:4 's' interlacing; edged with gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, plain weave with supplementary patterning warps and extended ground weft uncut fringe and silk, gilt-metal-strip and gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, stripes of plain weave with supplementary patterning warps and of 2:2 'z' twill weave with extended ground weft, wrapped, knotted uncut fringe; lining: silk, plain weave.

Date:

Second half of 16th century

Artist:

Italy

About this artwork

Expensive silk and gold textiles featured prominently in the decoration used in European Catholic churches. Because of their cost, precious materials were often recycled and refashioned. This 16th-century textile altar frontal has been augmented with more recent fringe and trimmings around the perimeter. The placement of these new elements echo the style of 16th-century frontals; they may have replaced originals that had become unsightly with age.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Textiles

Title

Altar Frontal

Place

Italy (Object made in)

Date

Made 1551–1599

Medium

Silk and gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, 4:1 satin damask weave with supplementary brocading wefts bound by main warps in weft-float faced 1:4 's' interlacing; edged with gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, plain weave with supplementary patterning warps and extended ground weft uncut fringe and silk, gilt-metal-strip and gilt-metal-strip-wrapped silk, stripes of plain weave with supplementary patterning warps and of 2:2 'z' twill weave with extended ground weft, wrapped, knotted uncut fringe; lining: silk, plain weave

Inscriptions

Handwritten on reverse: 3869

Dimensions

100.6 × 124.1 cm (39 5/8 × 88 1/4 in.); Repeat: 56 × 28.2 cm (22 × 11 1/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Edward Morris in memory of his wife

Reference Number

1961.545

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/86774/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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