Individual textiles and textile types»Religious vestments and other textiles»Sicilian Altar Frontal
Detail of the Sicilian Altar Frontal, St. Paul's Cathedral, London, mid-17th century.
The Sicilian Altar Frontal is an embroidered cloth in the collection of St. Paul’s Cathedral, London (acc. no. 5428). It was made in Sicily and dates to AD 1684. It is 275 x 101 cm in size and was given to the cathedral in 1932. The frontal is made from linen that is embroidered with metal thread and silk chenille thread.
The cloth is covered with an asymmetrical scrollwork design of flowers and foliage. The background is a basketweave of gold and silver metal threads. The flowers are of silk chenille, which is couched down in shaded colours. The various patterns are outlined with fine gold-coloured silk cord with silver plate using a laidwork technique. The frontal is trimmed with gold and silver milliary wire.
Digital source: 'Sicilian'.
Digital source of illustration (retrieved 8th July 2016).
GVE
