Wiehler MAGAZIN - Wiehler Gobelin

This vestment is an example of how someone
wanted to express the thoughts that had
gone through his mind during his course
of study. In this vestment he shows himself
so-to-speak in the awareness that he has
gained when experiencing these shocking
events.
These experiences appear to have strengthened
him even more deeply in the certainty
of his belief. Apart from the reference to
current events and the answer of God to
this challenge that he found for himself,
there were some other stories on this robe
related to the topic taken from the Old and
New Testaments.
As a sign of an ever-striving person who is
not even satisfied with the habitat on Earth
entrusted to him, there is also an emblem
of space travel on this vestment. So it tells a
full story.
By the way, in a complex work of this
kind the embroidery also changes its role.
Besides the pure finishing process it then
become a means of conveying a message.
Jutta Böttcher: In November 2006 you were
a guest of the Wiehler Gobelin company
when it celebrated the re-opening of the traditional
enterprise in its freshly renovated
premises in Buxtehude. You were surrounded
by many people with many questions
and amazed faces. At the end of the day you
told me that there was a lot of awareness
training to be done. What did you mean by
this?
M. J. Karbig: In the sixties and seventies the
paraments became less and less important
as ecclesiastical ornamentation and as decoration
for church rituals. Connected with
this trend towards the modern, towards
simplicity and “leaving a lot of things out”,
was the gradually growing loss of the whole
knowledge of the paraments and the ritual
significance of the fabrics themselves – and
not only among the congregation.
Hardly anyone knows that during the
second Vatican Council the task of the
paraments was redefined or even that
statements on the “arts” were issued both
by Pope John Paul II and by Pope Benedict.
Even the colour range of the paraments that
is based on the cycle of the ecclesiastical
year, is hardly known.
Here a handicraft can be a connecting fac-
here a handicraft can be a con-
necting factor. it enables both dis-
cussion and creative experience in
a deeply symbolic and technically
refined art.
tor. It enables both discussion and creative
experience in a deeply symbolic and technically
refined art.
Jutta Böttcher: You brought an impressively
beautiful white robe with you to the Open
Day at Wiehler Gobelin as we can see here
in this photo. Can you tell us something
about the significance of this robe?
M. J. Karbig: This is a holy festive vestment
connected with the Virgin Mary, but also
intended for other ecclesiastical festivals on
which white is worn.
Round the neckline there is a blue embroidered
area with roses. This is a symbol of
Heaven, penetrated with the presence and
mercy of Mary. Jesus crowned her Queen
and gave her to us as a mother. Jesus and
Mary are inseparably linked with one
another. This is why on the front of the robe
there is a cross above the „M“ for Mary.
From Heaven beams radiate down to Earth
in delicate Japanese gold and pearl embroidery.
They stand for the continually flowing
Wiehler MAGAZIN – May 2007 Page 10
mercy that Jesus sends down to Earth
through Mary. The beams connect Heaven
and Earth in Mary, in the picture of the fine
lines of embroidery running downwards
through the cross.
On the reverse a mental image of mankind
is approached about Jesus with the clear
lettering “per Mariam ad Jesum“. The short
statement makes it clear that the request
for help through Mary is open to all people
who perhaps have difficulty in coming nearer
to Jesus Christ, or that when observing
Mary’s posture – as “maiden of the Lord”
– one can find access to the true life in Christ
through the acceptance of the fate of life.
By the way this vestment is one of the few
that is still available for sale.
Jutta Böttcher: And now just one last question,
Mrs. Karbig. Imagine you were now seventy
years of age and would look back on a
fulfilled career. What would be the personal
criteria that make this career appear
successful to you.
M. J. Karbig: That is an interesting question.
This causes a kind of antagonism within me.
On the one hand I would not like to push
myself to the fore with my work but on the