Chasuble

This is a chasuble, the vestment worn by a Catholic priest when celebrating the mass. Prior to the 1960s, the priest stood facing the altar so the back of the chasuble was visible most of the time. This may account for the beautiful construction of the back and the rather less refined construction of the front.

On the back, the embroidered orphreys (decorative bands) have been attached to two pieces of red brocaded silk so that the gold camels in the pattern march across the textile horizontally, flanked by flowers and foliage. The most elaborate embroidered motifs are also on the back – the Crucifixion, biblical and saintly figures, and two shields or coats of arms bearing the personal devices of Sir Thomas Erpingham: an eagle rising and the red rose of Lancaster. Erpingham (about 1375–1428) was a close associate of Henry IV and Henry V and a veteran of the Battle of Agincourt (1415). The chasuble may have been for his personal chaplain, or for a church with which he was connected.

The silk was probably made in Italy; the embroidered orphreys were probably made in England which was renowned for high quality needlework of this type (often called 'opus anglicanum', literally 'English work'). The high cost of the materials may explain why the front of the chasuble has been put together from small pieces of the silk. The chasuble has been reduced from its original 'bell' shape cut to suit the more fashionable 'fiddle' shape of a later period (in or after the 17th century). Precious silk and fine embroidery, especially containing metallic threads, were used economically, and were often recycled.