Chasuble

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This magnificent chasuble was made for Luigi d'Amato di Sciacca, who was elected Bishop of Agrigento in 1589: nestled within the tendrils of its design is his family's coat of arms, surmounted by a bishop's twelve-tasseled galero hat. Also in The Met's collection is a matching bishop's stole (22.16.8), chalice cover (22.16.9), and bourse (22.16.10). Clearly, no expense was spared in the creation of these vestments. On a ground of sumptuous coral-colored silk a plethora of different thicknesses and profiles of silver and gilded silver metal thread has been embroidered to represent scrolling foliage, articulated by passion flowers and pomegranates- Christian symbols evoking Christ's death on the cross, and the multitude of souls redeemed by this sacrifice. It is unlikely that Luigi ever got to wear this splendid garment, however, dying in 1590 before his episcopal ordination and consecration.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art