56 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1914. 



Spanish copes, chasubles, stoles of the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seven- 

 teenth centuries in gold and silver brocades and embroideries, and 

 several of these are of the highest excellence. There are also chris- 

 tening robes, chalice covers, embroidered pictures, and other eccle- 

 siastical objects in which textiles were employed. Art craftsmen of 

 the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries displayed great skill in de- 

 signing and weaving velvets intended for costumes as well as for 

 hangings and upholstery. Velvets reached their acme in Genoa 

 and good specimens are very rare. Some of these of Italian, French, 

 and Spanish weaving are represented and may be compared with a 

 case of excellent Chinese velvets of the eighteenth century. 



Embroidery on woven fabric may have preceded decorative weav- 

 ing. The interpretation of embroidery in weaving produces brocade 

 in which the pattern, as in embroidery, is raised above the surface. 

 Embroidery has persisted from ancient times, however, as a distinct 

 class of work either as a decoration in combination with other 

 methods or as an artistic production. It has given rise to a great 

 number of stitches most of which are represented in the collection, 

 and attention is called to several examples of laid stitch and cross 

 stitch, and especially to a magnificent specimen of Italian em- 

 broidery installed on the screen. A number of very quaint and 

 interesting pieces of English stump work of the period of Charles V 

 are also shown. The setting of embroideries with precious and semi- 

 precious stones is frequently observed in antique fabrics, the work 

 often resembling the incrustations of the jeweler. A fine Spanish 

 specimen of this kind is exhibited besides three other examples of 

 embroidery squares and a long panel set with coral. The noble art 

 of tapestry weaving is illustrated by two excellent Italian works, 

 which, together with Persian, Chinese, and Turkish rugs, decorate 

 the walls above the cases. 



In connection with the art textiles have been included other classes 

 of art objects such as fans, enamels, jewelry, and ivory carvings. 

 Chief of these special exhibits is a collection of 32 European fans 

 carefully selected by Mrs. Pinchot. They evidence not only the most 

 perfect art and taste, but are also associated with sentiment and 

 history. The enamels are from the famous Limoges artists ; they are 

 principally of ecclesiastical subjects and intended for shrines, etc. 

 The colors are gris and polychrome, the former representing the 

 older painting. These enamels may be compared with the ecclesias- 

 tical embroideries and embroidered pictures in other cases. A fac- 

 simile of the enamel cross of Queen Dagmar, who died in 1212, and 

 a Danish cameo and enamel necklace, the cameos carved by the great 

 sculptor Thorwaldsen, are especially noteworthy. 



