Object Notes

The invention of the Jacquard loom revolutionized the textile industry by semi-automating weaving. The blue herringbone pattern figured ground is achieved by the Jacquard punched card process. High quality fabrics such as the Louis XV and Louis XVI styles were in great demand by the new industrial society.

Symbol of Christ's love, the chasuble was traditionally worn by members of the clergy on special occasions. The shape of this chasuble back with an uncrossed central applied panel is typical of those worn in Spain in the 17th and 18th centuries. The front is fiddle shaped.

This panel belongs to a group of finely woven silk brocades called

Brocades such as these were used as wall coverings, bed and window hangings and for upholstery in the Louis XIV and Régence periods in France.

A dalmatic is a wide-sleeved robe worn over the alb and cassock by a deacon at High Mass.

This beautiful panel is a continuous colorful feast of scrolling large-scale flowers and leafage interspersed with small birds and butterflies. Simplified but similar motifs are found on the drawer-fronts of the ivory plaqued cabinet on stand in the Reves Collection (1985.R.573.A-C).

While the humble subject of this painting carries a heavy burden, she wears an expression of resolve and dignity, with her body unbroken and unhampered by her load.