Chasuble

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Showcasing the bright, acidic colors of synthetic dyes, the boldly patterned, machine-woven brocaded damask textile of this object was probably originally intended as upholstery fabric, with a bulky, thick weave and multiple colored supplementary wefts intended to stand the wear and tear of furniture coverings. Around the beginning of the twentieth century, this textile was repurposed to create this garment, which imitates a chasuble (worn by the Catholic priest over his clothing when officiating at church services) but was almost certainly made not for liturgical wear but to appeal to the tastes of the art market.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art