About This Artwork

Italy, Florence or Venice

Altar Frontal, 1450/1500

Silk, warp-float faced 3:1 'Z' twill weave with supplementary discontinuous facing brocading wefts forming areas of weft loops (known as bouclé) tied by secondary binding warps in weft-float faced 3:1 twill interlacing and supplementary pile warps forming cut, pile on pile, voided velvet
100.8 x 203.4 cm (39 3/4 x 80 1/8 in.)
Repeat: 84.4 x 56.5 cm (33 1/4 x 22 1/4 in.)
Kate S. Buckingham Endowment, 1944.403

Exhibition, Publication and Ownership Histories

Exhibition History

The Art Institute of Chicago, Agnes Allerton Gallery, "Sumptuous Velvets from the Permanent Collection," March 1–September 28, 1980

The Art Institute of Chicago, Agnes Allerton Gallery, "Vestments and Liturgical Textiles from the Permanent Collection," July 27–October 9, 1983

The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, "European Textile Masterpieces from Coptic Times through the 19th Century," September 27, 1989–January 22, 1990

The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, "Textile Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago's Collection," February 17–May 2, 1993

The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, "Gloria in Excelsis Deo: Heralding a Vestment Collection," September 11, 1996–January 12, 1997

The Art Institute of Chicago, Elizabeth F. Cheney and Agnes Allerton Textile Galleries, "Renaissance Velvets and Silks," December 18, 2002–April 13, 2003

Publication History

Meyric R. Rogers and Oswald Goetz. Handbook to the Lucy Maud Buckingham Medieval Collection (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1945), p. 72 (Illus.), no. 60.

Christa Charlotte Mayer. Masterpieces of Western Textiles from The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1969), pp. 63, 67 (illus.) pl. 47.

Christa C. Mayer Thurman. Raiment for the Lord's Service: A Thousand Years of Western Vestments. (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1975), p. 116 (Illus.), no. 32.

Christa C. Mayer Thurman. Textiles in The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1992), p. 21 (Illus.), 143.