Page:Textile fabrics; a descriptive catalogue of the collection of church-vestments, dresses, silk stuffs, needle-work and tapestries, forming that section of the Museum (IA textilefabricsde00soutrich).pdf/515

 8709.

Altar-Frontal of grey linen, figured in needle-*work, with flowers, stars, and heraldic animals, on alternating squares of plain linen and net-work. German, 15th century. 9 feet 5-1/2 inches by 4 feet 2-1/2 inches.

This important piece of stitchery was never meant for a covering to the table or upper part of the altar; it served as a frontal to it, and was hung before, and at each corner of the altar so as to cover it and its two sides down to the ground. From all its ornaments having an armorial feeling about them, this elaborate piece of needle-work would seem to have been wrought by the hands of some noble lady, who took the blazon of her house for its adornment. At the lower part, in the middle, is a shield of arms argent, charged with two bars once gules; high above, a star of eight points voided gules; below, a fleur-de-lis barred argent and gules; at each of the four corners of the square a maneless lion rampant barred argent and gules. To the right, on the same level, a square filled in with fleurs-de-lis; then a square with birds and beasts unknown to English heraldry: the birds, natant, have heads of the deer kind, horned, and the beasts a beaked head with a single arched horn coming out of the forehead with the point of the bow in front; both birds and beasts are paled argent and gules. On the next square are stars of eight points, and flowers with eight petals, within quatrefoils all argent, upon a field (the netting) gules. The last square is separated into three pales each charged with a flower-like ornament alternately argent and gules. Above this square is another of net gules, charged with four flowers argent; and, going to the left, we have a square showing two bears combatant barred argent and gules; still to the left, birds at rest, and stars alternating argent upon a square of net gules. Next to this a large antelope tripping paled argent and gules; then a square having lions rampant within lozenges with a four-petaled flower at every point, all argent, on a field (of net) gules. Following this is a large dog, maned and rampant barred argent and gules; to this succeeds a square of net gules charged with lozenges, having over each point a mascle, and within them stars of eight points all argent. The last square to the left on this middle row is charged with a heart-shaped ornament voided in the form of a fleur-de-lis, and put in three piles of four with flowers between. The only other square