Cope
c. 1500
- Medium
- Silk, satin weave cut pile-on-pile solid velvet
- Classification
- Textile
- Dimensions
- 119.6 × 282.1 cm (47 1/8 × 111 1/8 in.); Repeat: 41.3 × 29.8 cm (16 1/4 × 11 3/4 in.)
- Culture
- Venice
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Textiles
- Credit line
- Kate S. Buckingham Endowment
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This luxurious expanse of velvet is a cope, a type of priestly garment. Its high quality reflects the wearer’s status. The design of crowns, rosettes, and knots is created by two distinct heights of velvet pile, and the deep crimson color was probably produced by a costly dye derived from dried insects. At one time, it would have also had a richly embroidered band that outlined the front edges when draped over the priest’s shoulders as well as a decorative hood. Because its heaviness and volume restricted arm movement, the garment was worn mostly for processions.
Walking in procession, a bishop or abbot carried a crozier like this ivory example. Its shape, that of a shepherd’s crook, signaled his pastoral duty to take care of his flock—the faithful.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
