Dalmatic featuring saints
15th/16th century

February 28, 2022

The most exceptional historic embroidery in the Cathedral collections, this item was probably a dalmatic; a vestment used by a Deacon. It dates from the fifteenth or sixteenth centuries is the oldest vestment in the Cathedral collections by centuries.

The embroidered decorative panels featuring saints reveal the incredible level of skill and craft of medieval embroidery in England at this time, known as the Opus Anglicanum.

The decorative panels, also known as orphreys, are appliqué; pieces of fabric sewn on to a larger piece. They are embroidered with dyed wool and gold thread. Each saint is set within an architectural niche with a canopy.

All figures are represented with halos, a sign of sainthood, and all appear to be male. One of the saints can be identified as St Stephen wearing the vestment of a deacon. Other figures sport tonsured monastic haircuts.

The detail surviving of the minute facial features and wavy hair of some figures reveals an incredible level of craftsmanship (although recent studies have challenged the traditional conception that professional weaving and textiles became a male-dominated craft in the Late Middle Ages).

Further designs requiring identification decorate the shoulders and sleeves. Copper has been used throughout for staining threads green. At some point a laid thread with trellis over the top has been added to the sleeves and to the border of the orphreys.

The orphreys are sown onto red velvet lined with linen. The colour has faded to an orange-brown and in most areas is threadbare.

The missalignment of panels on the back of the vestment and crooked seams in the velvet reveal they have been reused, perhaps from an altar frontal or hanging. Reuse was typical during the Middle Ages, it is thought that many curtains, hangings and tapestries would once have decorated cathedrals and churches in addition to their extensive painted decoration. We are probably largely ignorant of the former due to its not being so readily preserved, which makes the survival of this vestment all the more remarkable.

Exhibition Assistant Jacob Scott with the Rochester Cathedral Guild of Embroiderers

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