Antependium of Middelburg

Fragment of the Antependium of Middelburg, or nué, early 16th century, The Netherlands. Copyright Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis, Brussels, Belgium, inv. no. Tx 1279; obj. no. 20014717.

The Antependium of Middelburg, also ascribed to Grimbergen and Nassau, dates to the early sixteenth century and is a prime example of the famous or nué technique, which flourished in the Netherlands in the late medieval period. It measures 377 x 93 cm and is housed in the Koninklijke Musea voor Kunst en Geschiedenis, Brussels (inv. no. Tx 1279; obj. no. 20014717).

The antependium was originally made for the abbey of the Norbertines in Middelburg, the capital of Zeeland. With the advent of the Protestants in the early Eighty-Years War (1568-1648), the Norbertines took the antependium to the south, which had remained in Catholic hands. For two centuries it remained in the Norbertine abbey of Grimbergen, before it was sold to the Belgian state.

Source: BODT, Saskia de (1992). 'Altaarkleed terug in Middelburg', NRC-Handelsblad, 9 May 1992.

BALaT KIK-IRPA online catalogue (retrieved 31 October 2016).

Last modified on Saturday, 25 February 2017 18:14

Published in Religious vestments and other textiles