RARE EMBROIDERY PANEL, Italy, Late 16th or early 17th Century (Very similar to productions in Florence, Genoa, Venice or Milan) Dimensions: H. 192 x W. 98 cm. Materials: silk and gold and silver metallic threads, on a dark velvet or satin ground with a deep bluish-green hue (a very popular colour in Lombardy and Venice). Technique: pastel embroidery in gold and polychrome silk thread. Vertical, highly rhythmic composition. Very graceful, dancing foliage decoration. This is probably a rare liturgical velvet. A common format for orphreys, chasuble fronts and altar facings. (Oxidation and natural wear, accidents) Typically decorated with stylised foliage and grotesques, arranged in vertical panels separated by gold bands. Acanthus scrolls (spiralling, very moving), coiled gilded foliage and various flowers (roses, tulips, carnations) are freely arranged in the scrollwork. There are glimpses of birds and small stylised animals (perhaps birds pecking at flowers). Beautiful symmetrical and dense composition (very Mannerist taste). Theme of naturalistic flowers and birds. This decoration is very similar to the grotesques and floral arabesques found in Italian and French textiles and embroidery at the end of the 16th century. In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, embroidery served not only as an ornament but also as a symbol of cultural connectivity and technological progress, reflecting the major transformations in European society at the time. It also represents great artistic refinement. It was not just a matter of beauty; it symbolised power and wealth. Richly embellished clothes became increasingly popular, stimulated by the European courts of Italy and France (under Louis XIV). Furniture - screens, curtains, cushions, religious vestments - were embellished with elaborate patterns of finely drawn flowers. Comparative pieces : 1. The Italian embroideries in the Musei del Tessuto (Prato) and Poldi Pezzoli (Milan). Similar examples can also be found in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London (notably the Italian fragments dated circa 1580-1620, featuring the same golden scrolls and flowers on a dark green background). 2. The Met Museum (Italian chasuble panels). 3. Seattle Art Museum (Genoa, Italy). 4. The Walters Art Museum. 5. The Garden Museum panel. French references : 1. Panels with foliate decoration (Musée du Louvre, MRR 837). 2. Textiles of the Visitandines (France).