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/516



differing from those just noticed are the two charged with an animal of the deer kind, with antlers quite straight. The narrow borders at the sides are not the least curious parts of this interesting specimen; that on the left hand is made up of a dog running after a bearded antelope, which is confronted by a griffin so repeated as to fill up the whole line. The border on the right hand is made up of the beast with the one horn.

8710.

Alb of White Linen appareled at the cuffs, and before and behind at the feet, with crimson and gold stuff figured with animals and floriations of the looms of Palermo. Sicilian, 14th century. 5 feet 7 inches long, 4 feet across the shoulders, without the sleeves.

For those curious in liturgical appliances this fine alb of the mediæval period will be a valuable object of study, though perhaps not for imitation in the way in which it is widened at the waist. Its large opening at the neck—1 foot 4-1/2 inches—is somewhat scalloped, but without any slit down the front, or gatherings, or band. On each shoulder, running down 1 foot 3-3/4 inches, is a narrow piece of crochet-work inscribed in red letters with the names "," "." The full sleeves, from 1 foot 6 inches wide, are gradually narrowed to 6-1/4 inches at the end of the apparels at the cuffs, which are 4 inches deep and edged with green linen tape. At the waist, where it is 3 feet 10 inches, it is made, by means of gatherings upon a gusset embroidered with a cross-crosslet in red thread, to widen itself into 6 feet, or 12 feet all round. Down the middle, before and behind, as far as the apparels, is let in a narrow piece of crochet-work like that upon the shoulders, but uninscribed. The two apparels at the feet—one before, the other behind—vary in their dimensions, one measuring 1 foot 1 inch by 1 foot 1-3/4 inches, the other, which is made up of fragments, 1 foot by 11-3/4 inches. Very elaborate and freely designed is the heraldic pattern on the rich stuff which forms the apparels. The ground is of silk, now faded, but once a bright crimson; the figures, all in gold, are an eagle in demi-vol, langued, with a ducal crown, not upon, but over its head; above this is a mass of clouds with pencils of sun-rays darting from beneath them all around; higher up again, a collared