Chasuble

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This tabard-like chasuble would have been worn by a Roman Catholic priest over his alb gown when officiating at church services. The boldly colored silk is an interesting example of cheaper production: to keep costs down, the silken threads of the brocaded elements, which define the figurative pattern of flowers and urns, were as thin as possible. As a result, many have been lost through abrasion, especially on the front of the chasuble.

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