Sitting, as we are, on the cusp of the feast of Mary, Mother of God, it seemed like an apropos time to show this stunning 18th century chasuble from the Musée de la Visitation in Moulins, France.
Regrettably, I can offer little in the way of detail about it beyond what I have mentioned, but I did want to make a few comments about its design.
I have always enjoyed this type of 18th century textile pattern, but what I find particularly striking about this one is the combination of the white with the gold, red and especially the blue. (For the record, it is this presence of blue within the textile, not to mention the red, rose like flowers, which bring to mind Marian associations for me.)
The blue particularly harmonizes with the gold found within the textile as well as on the orphreys, while the white grounds the whole; the red and green accents offer just right amount of visual variation needed to keep things interesting.
I have often commented on the benefit of using wider trims for the orphreys and this yet another example of just such an application. In fact the entire pattern has a nice weight to it. One can see as well the possibilities of trims that are not 'solid' in their design. While the temptation might be to assume that such combinations would make a vestment too busy, in this instance at least you can see that it has contributed to a more harmonious and integrated whole -- almost making the trims seem to be part of the textile design itself.
Here is a slightly closer look at those various components.
