Description

This lavishly enriched embroidery, known as an
apparel, is part of a set that originally embellished a dalmatic, an ecclesiastical garment, one on the
front above the hem and another on the back. Gold and silver thread form the striking strapwork,
or interlaced scrolls, of blossoms and leaves. The
variety of stitches would have made the embroidery sparkle in low light levels, such as in a candlelit
church. Some are worked in straight lines, others in curved contours, while still others create more
textured basket-weave effects.