2-725-745 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Chasuble Fragment with Realistic Animals, c. 1420. Around 1400 an emerging interest in the bucolic world of nature encouraged a new trend among textile designers, as seen in the lions, hawks, dogs, and ducks on this luxury silk fragment. The continual influence of Chinese asymmetry, however, is evident in the prominent undulating palmette trees, enlarged from sinuous vines frequently seen in Italian silks and velvets from this period.