The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 29, no. 7 (March, 1971)

9. Hood of the Burgos cope, showing the coat of arms of Don Alfonso de Cartagena,
Bishop of Burgos, below a Pieta. Spanish, about 1437. Embroidery in silk and gold
thread, height 151/4 inches. The Cloisters Collection, 53.22
10. Hood from a cope, showing the Death and Assumption of the Virgin. Flemish, late
XV century. Embroidery in silk and gold thread with silver-gilt fringe, height 191/2
inches. The Cloisters Collection, 55.146 b
11. Orphrey panels from a cope, showing Sts. Peter, Paul, Bartholomew, and John the
Evangelist. Italian, XV century. Embroidery in silk and gold thread, width of each panel
87/4 inches. Gift of Samuel H. Kress, 46.109.21
The highest level of Spanish needlework is seen in a cope that once
belonged to Don Alfonso of Cartagena, whose coat of arms appears
on the hood (Figure 9; page 309, Figure 18; cover). Born of a converted
Jewish father who had risen rapidly in the Spanish church, Don Alfonso
was Bishop of Burgos from 1435 to 1456. While attending the Council
of Basel, he expanded his power and prestige. This particular cope,
along with forty others in a series of which twenty-four survive, is
thought to have been presented to the Cathedral of Burgos by the
bishop upon his return from Basel in 1437.
The South Netherlandish style appears in the hood of a handsome
fifteenth-century cope of Spanish velvet (Figure 10). Its scene of the
Dormition of the Virgin is strongly reminiscent of Hugo van der Goes's
painting of the same subject. This embroidery employs a technique
very rich in gold and referred to as or nue, or shaded gold, which is
primarily associated with the Burgundian court, as it was used extensively
in a famous set of vestments'made for the Order of the Golden
Fleece during the reign of Philip the Good.
An Italian cope of green velvet has colorful orphreys and hood in an
extremely fine state of preservation (Figure 11). Although St. Bartholomew
was a popular saint throughout Europe, his inclusion in these
orphreys points to the cope's Florentine origin, because he was the
patron saint of several important Florentine merchant guilds. Like
opus anglicanum, Florentine embroidery reached its highpoint in the
fourteenth century but continued in the medieval tradition well into
the fifteenth century.
Unfortunately, we rarely have as much information on vestments as
we have on the Burgos cope, and the need for further research is acute.
The following contributions by members of the Cloisters staff are
intended as a brief introduction to the subject, and further information
on the history and technique of individual vestments will be available
on the exhibition labels. The exhibition itself is complemented by
related works, such as panel paintings, sculpture, ivories, stained glass,
and enamels, which demonstrate the transformation of types through
the centuries and depict some of the more unusual vestments. We hope
that the exhibition will generate interest in an area that has long been
overlooked and lead to greater knowledge of these splendid objects.
TIMOTHY B. HUSBAND
Assistant Curator in Charge of Administration, The Cloisters