Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source Description
This beautiful vestment, called an alb, was worn under other liturgical garments by the clergy who served at the altar. Embroidered with gilt-metal thread flora on a linen ground, it is trimmed with a flounce and cuffs of lace, the most fashionable and expensive material at the time. Its purple silk lining indicates that it belonged to an archbishop. The exquisitely worked bobbin lace consists of two large composite floral designs flanked by popular curved forms on an elaborate bar ground that repeats ten times around the flounce.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
100902
label
Alb
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
100902
contentType
object
title
Alb
description
This beautiful vestment, called an alb, was worn under other liturgical garments by the clergy who served at the altar. Embroidered with gilt-metal thread flora on a linen ground, it is trimmed with a flounce and cuffs of lace, the most fashionable and expensive material at the time. Its purple silk lining indicates that it belonged to an archbishop. The exquisitely worked bobbin lace consists of two large composite floral designs flanked by popular curved forms on an elaborate bar ground that repeats ten times around the flounce.
date
Embroidered Linen: 1600s; Lace Flounce: 1700s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79493996
genreSpecific
Garment
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Average: 342.9 x 61 cm (135 x 24 in.)
cul
Spain and Flanders
accession
1920.126
Source extras
tec
Plain weave linen embroidered in gold and silver; linen bobbin lace (Point d’Angleterre a Reseau)
tombstone
Alb, Embroidered Linen: 1600s; Lace Flounce: 1700s. Spain and Flanders. Plain weave linen embroidered in gold and silver; linen bobbin lace (Point d’Angleterre a Reseau); average: 342.9 x 61 cm (135 x 24 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of J. H. Wade, 1920.1260
collection
T - Ecclesiastical
citations
citation
Mayer-Thurman, Christa C., John Maxon, Aidan Kavanagh, Donald L. Garfield, and Horace T. Allen. <em>Raiment for the Lord's Service: A Thousand Years of Western Vestments</em>. Chicago: Art Institute, 1975.
page_number
no. 83, p. 194 illus, p. 48
citation
Mackie, Louise W. “Opulent Fashion in the Church: A celebration of Jeptha H. Wade II's magnificent textile donations.” <em>Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine</em> 57, no. 1 (January/February 2017): 8-9.
page_number
Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 9
creditline
Gift of J. H. Wade
updatedAt
2026-06-10 17:56:30.498000
sourceId
100902
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Ecclesiastical
med
Plain weave linen embroidered in gold and silver; linen bobbin lace (Point d’Angleterre a Reseau)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
0a23476bd0a939e3