A Masterpiece of Gothic Revival Vestment Work by G.F. Bodley

Sometimes gothic revival vestment work gets a bad rap, though I am convinced that in great part this is due to the fact that most of what we tend to associate with gothic revival vestment work is what the religious supply companies pumped out en masse in the twentieth century. These products often relied on the novelty of the newly-fashionable gothic form while also catering to the lowest common denominator (by which I simply mean, they were very conservative in their approach often times, so as to appeal to the widest possible customer base). In short, these were approached less as items of liturgical art and more as liturgical consumer goods o be moved in as much volume and as quickly as possible. Unfortunately because of this, many of us tend to associate gothic revival vestment work with something inherently blasé and 'cookie-cutter' in nature -- which is unfair. 

Fortunately do have some examples of what gothic revival vestment work can and ought to be. Of the gothic revival masters, one in particular stands out in this regard, and that is George Frederick Bodley (+1907), one of the founders of Watts & Co. of London.  While Bodley is perhaps best known for his architectural work, he also produced some extremely fine liturgical vestment designs, not least of which the spectacular cope of St. Paul's Church, Knightsbridge. 

This particular cope was likely executed by the embroidery guild of St. Paul's, Knightsbridge who, according to Watt's & Co.'s archival records, would regularly work on bringing Bodley's embroidery designs into realization. As such, it seems likely that this was the case here as well. 

This particular design of Bodley was set on Watt's "Gothic Damask" textile in Sarum red, seen here (a textile that is still in production today). 

But it is of course the embroidery work itself which is the star of this particular show. The main body of the cope it itself covered in embroidered designs, including crowns, sunbursts and the fleur-de-lys. 

Particularly striking though is the shield of the cope which features a gothic-scripted IHS monogram surrounded by a sunburst and other decorative elements, with the shield itself having an alternating red and gold tasseled fringe. 

The orphrey of the cope is also quite striking, containing a heraldic rose and other vegetal motifs, as well as the repetition of the IHS monogram found on the shield and the monogram "SP" (which presumably comes with reference to St. Paul, the patronal saint of the parish in question). 

I believe most of us will be able to agree that whether your own particular tastes and preferences incline toward gothic or baroque or renaissance, that this is a simply exquisite design.

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