Chasubles from the later 1400's and 1500's are always quite of interest for reason of their ornate textiles and embroideries. Today we're going to quickly look at three chasubles coming from this period, each of which have a scene of the crucifixion in a raised embroidery technique called broderie en relief set onto a red/gold textile -- interesting for reason not only of their similarities but also their differences.
The first is dated to circa 1490-1510 with a crucifixion scene showing a figure at the base of the cross. Naturally, one might at first assume this is St. John, but in point of fact it is actually a depiction of St. Paul -- as evidenced by the fact the figure is bearded and holding a sword and book. Given that St. Paul is a martyr, and of course this chasuble is liturgically red, this would suggest that it may have been a chasuble made specifically with martyrs days in mind.
The red textile is a voided velvet, likely Venetian in origin, that includes what appear to be gold pomegranates.
Some modifications were done to this chasuble in the 1600's which may explain the presence of a coat of arms which appear to have the date "1626" attached to it.
Finally, we'll conclude with a chasuble we have shown here before. It is dated to circa 1524-1574, once again showing a scene of the crucifixion, the cross here too being in the form of a tree with cut branches. In this instance while we see no accompanying figures, we do see at the base of the cross what appears to be a bed of flowers (perhaps signifying a new Eden.). All of this is set onto a Turkish velvet of winding branches with pomegranate leaves and fruits
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