Rare Tudor Orphrey Silk and Metal Thread Embroidered Panels with Iconography Saints: C16th England
A rare and early pair of Tudor England embroidered orphrey panels. These decorative vertical bands were originally attached to liturgical vestments, such as the front or back of a chasuble or along the open edges of a cope.
Hand-stitched with silk, silver, or silver-gilt metallic threads onto a linen ground foundation.
The panels feature a series of stacked, architectural niches. Each compartment depicts a specific Christian figure, saint, or prophet standing under an arched canopy with crenellated castle-like accents at the borders.
These figures display fine, distinct details in their garments, draped cloaks, and radial halos. This visual format is characteristic of European ecclesiastical textiles crafted between the 15th and early 17th centuries.
They date to the early Tudor period, circa 1520-1530, a rare surviving example of late pre-Reformation, English ecclesiastical needlework. The individual figures were meticulously hand-stitched onto fine linen before being applied to the broader decorative columns.
This pair of panels was designed with three tiers of paired figures. Due to areas of centuries-old thread wear, the icons are identified based on traditional medieval iconographic attributes:
- Saint Dominic: Typically identified as one of the figures holding a sacred book.
- Saint Agnes: Identified by the presence of a delicate olive branch or a lamb attribute.
- Saint Justina: Distinctly represented wearing a royal crown and holding a martyr's sword.
The remaining tiers feature male and female companion saints dressed in heavy cloaks with elaborate rayed halos, completing the devotional hierarchy of the column.
The price quoted is for ONE single orphrey panel.
Measurements:
133.5cm long x 21cm wide
Condition:
the centuries have rendered these panels worn and there are losses to silk embroidered areas, faces etc. the metal thread embroidery has faired better and is pretty much intact. Wear commensurate with antiquity.