2-725-749 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Chasuble, 1700s. The silk thread in this chasuble, a liturgical vestment worn over an alb, is exceptionally lustrous. The lavish allover floral and foliate decoration in pastel shades on golden stems and the ivory ground were embroidered with shiny floss silk—soft silk filaments that form loosely twisted instead of tightly twisted thread. The floss silk is crossed with parallel lines of thread in matching colours that are secured by a third thread from underneath, called laid and couched-work embroidery. The dazzling effect illustrates skilled workmanship.