The following content was created for a class assignment at SCAD.
Fig. 1
During the Eucharistic liturgy of Mass, priests wore chasubles. Depending on the location, time period, priest and patrons, gold embroidery would cover the chasuble in an underside couching technique that gave significance to the church as any icon would. Though some were mainly decorative, many took advantage of the priest’s position during Mass and used embroidery to showcase scenes of the Crucifixion in the back of the vestment to convey the message of the liturgy in honor of Christ’s Passion.[1]These vestments were the first examples of Opus Anglicanum or ‘English Work’ which describe the distinctive technique and skill of embroidery.[2]The Clare Chasuble is the earliest surviving English chasuble to use the Opus Anglicanum style in portraying Christ’s Crucifixion, the Virgin Mary and Christ enthroned and Saint Stephen, Saint Peter, Saint Paul.
Chasubles were Roman cloak-like garments with no sleeves worn over the priest’s robes. The English Medieval chasubles were quite voluminous and varied in length and width. Typically, in norm with Roman fashion, they had a paenula opening for the head which provides a high collar of sorts and covered the body just past the priest’s knees, though some met the floor. The Clare Chasuble was created in England between 1272-94. Its height is 124 cm and has a width of 80 cm; it currently resides in London at the Victoria and Albert Museum. Though the chasuble is made up of many layers of textiles and embroidery, the ground or base layer uses “a luxurious Iranian fabric of silk and cotton,” which adds to the value and preciousness of it.[3]
From an initial observation through photography, the Iranian blue silk and cotton blend in the background of the chasuble looks aged and distressed. However, upon closer inspection, almost all of the surface area of the Clare Chasuble is covered in various embroidery techniques (fig. 1). From silver-gilt thread undersides imbedded within linen to floss silk thread laid and couched with silk twist on satin. The underside couching method uses the silver-gilt thread so that it is both pliable and displays the maximum amount of thread on the surface of the garment. The central back panel, which includes all of the figural scenes, uses split-stitch to contour the face and body of the figures. This is why from a distant perspective, the style he figures portrayed is a bit stylized and not naturalistic. The dark-blue thread that was used to do the split-stitch also blends with the ground fabric. This technique does go on to become a recognizable characteristic of Opus Anglicanum.
Outside of the central back figural panel, scroll work is fluid and natural as it portrays vines and flowers interlacing. In any circular opening, specifically in the front of the vestment, lions and phoenixes are housed within (fig. 5, fig. 6). Even the animals are shown to be fluid or in movement. The intricacy and delicate nature of the scroll work is very similar and may have influenced the typical scroll-work forms in The Ormesby Psalter. In Islamic Sources of the Ormesby Psalter, Bruce Watson wrote, “Still another example is found in opus anglicanum as exemplified by the motif between the barbed quatrefoils of the Clare Chasuble … and which may be related to the earlier designs of the Dover Bible and the Westminster St. Peter.”[4]
The central back panel creates sections for the individual figural scenes and divides them using quatrefoils in satin stitching, which provides a wider and flatter framework that helps distinguish the heavy details within each scene. The top scene shows the Crucifixion (fig. 2). In the center, Christ is shown on a cross which bares a second horizontal plank above him. Here, split-stitch comes into play and helps define what type of Christ the chasuble wants to portray. The stitching creates a heavy contour for his ribs, and though he is shown with a halo, the position of his head and the limpness of his body shows his suffering and pain. Beside him are two saints which can be identified by their robes, halos, hand positions and reoccurrences in other scenes on the chasuble.
The scene below displays the Virgin Mary and Christ enthroned (fig. 3). Similar to the top scene, it’s a recognizable image. They’re recognized as enthroned because of the lavish and decorated seat they’re on and the embellished crown the Virgin Mary wears. Christ is recognized because of the nimbus he’s given. The following scene and the bottom scene show the martyrdom of St. Stephen, St. Peter and St. Paul.[5]These scenes also represent important tales of the saints and each holds a significant item that gives a clue to their meaning and importance. The Clare Chasuble is mainly embellished with gold and silver-gilt threads, but also uses colored silks to thread and add color to the animals, flowers and figures portrayed. “The imagery achieved in this special medium is comparable with the luxurious illuminated manuscripts produced in England during the Middle Ages and forms a repository of some unique iconography,” wrote Michael A. Michael inThe Age of Opus Anglicanum.[6]
The garment was cut down from a larger piece that was more voluminous. Evidence can be attributed to the lines of the stitching from the perimeter of the chasuble that are cut off. Specifically, in the center panel, the top and bottom quatrefoils are cut off from completing the scene and outlines (fig. 2, fig. 7). In the center front of the garment, a 16th century bobbin lace acts as an added finishing and the border is seam bound when it would typically just be lined or use a thicker and more evident lace like the Chasuble (c. 1140-60) of Bishop Bernard I of Hildesheim or the Salzburg Cope (1275-1300) does.[7]Garments constructed for normal or ceremonial wear will suffer through the many uses and significance they hold. This is why illuminated manuscripts also include instructions of embroidery techniques. Kay Staniland wrote in Embroiderers, “Many surviving medieval embroideries show signs of re-use when fashion damage requires it: the Syon Cope, for example, altered from chasuble to cope and given orphreys which were once a stole and maniple; the Clare Chasuble severely cut down in the post-medieval period; or the heraldic fragment, now a seal-bag.”[8]
The original patron of the Clare Chasuble who commissioned the vestment is most likely believed to be or for Margret de Clare who lived from 1250 to 1312. This is believed because of the coat of arms the chasuble is adorned with mimics those associated with her and her mother’s family and her husband’s, the 2nd Earl of Cornwall Edmund of Almain.[9]This was most likely in the honor of Margret de Clare’s wedding, which also shows the significance and influence women had in commissioning works of art.
Footnotes:
[1]“Introducing Opus Anglicanum,” Victoria and Albert Museum, Accessed May 1, 2019, pp. 28.
[2]Michael A. Michael, The Age of Opus Anglicanum, (Belgium: Harvey Miller Publishers, 2016), pp. 23.
[3]“Introducing Opus Anglicanum,” pp. 138.
[4]BruceWatson, “Islamic Sources of the Ormesby Psalter,” Volume 8. No. (1) (1969), pp. 49-50.
[5]“Introducing Opus Anglicanum,” pp. 138.
[6]Michael A. Michael, pp. 58.
[7]“Introducing Opus Anglicanum,” pp. 28-30.
[8]Kay Staniland, Embroiderers, (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991), pp. 66-70.
[9]“Introducing Opus Anglicanum,” pp. 140.
Bibliography:
Blair, John. Ramsay, Nigel. English Medieval Industries: Craftsmen, Techniques, Products. London: The Hambledon Press, 1991.
Browne, Clare. Davies, Glyn. Michael, M. A. English Medieval Embroidery: Opus Anglicanum. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2016.
“Introducing Opus Anglicanum.” Victoria and Albert Museum. Accessed May 1, 2019. https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/about-opus-anglicanum
Michael, Michael A. The Age of Opus Anglicanum. Belgium: Harvey Miller Publishers, 2016
Staniland, Kay. Embroiderers. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1991.
Watson, Bruce. “Islamic Sources of the Ormesby Psalter.” Gesta. Vol. 8, No. 1 (1969), pp. 47- 52.
Watson, Bruce. “The Place of the Cuerden Psalter in English Illumination.” Gesta. Vol. 9, No. 1 (1970), pp. 34-41.