Pontifical Stockings in Opus Anglicanum

Fragment of pontifical stocking, worked in Opus Anglicanum, from Worcester Cathedral, dated first half of the 13th century. Fragment of pontifical stocking, worked in Opus Anglicanum, from Worcester Cathedral, dated first half of the 13th century. Copyright Victoria and Albert Museum, London, acc. no. 1380-1901.

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London holds in its collection a fragment (c. 29 x 22.5 cm) of what has been suggested to be a pair of pontifical stockings/boots, worked in opus anglicanum. They were retrieved from a tomb in Worcester cathedral in 1861, believed to be that of Bishop Walter de Cantelupe (who died in AD 1266).

Made by the middle of the thirteenth century, the small fragment shows silver-gilt and silk thread embroidery in underside couching, stem stich and split stitch. The ground material is in silk, and may have been imported from the Mediterranean. Other fragments from the tomb are housed in the British Museum and Worcester Cathedral (click here).

This fragment, and in particular its scrolling decoration, has been compared to the fragments of stockings/boots, also worked in opus anglicanum, preserved in Trondheim, Norway.

Source: BROWNE, Clare, Glyn DAVIES, and M.A. MICHAEL (2016). English Medieval Embroidery: Opus Anglicanum, exhibition catalogue, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, pp. 128-130. 

V&A online catalogue (retrieved 30 October 2016).

WV

 

Last modified on Sunday, 18 December 2016 19:50