Classic, Simple, Elegant Romanitas in New Vestment Work

I wanted to take a moment to highlight a design which strikes me as particularly Roman in everything from its cut to its colour, to its galloons and to its crosses. The cut is, as I say, classically Roman in the way it hangs, particularly in the way it drapes over the shoulders. (Personally, this form is that which I consider the most satisfying where this shape of chasuble is concerned as it neither conceals too much of the shoulder or the breast compared to other regional cuts of this type. It is the fullest form of the Roman chasuble.)

In terms of colour, while there is no one "correct" shade of purple/violet, I have always found Roman/Tyrian purple to be one of the most pleasing of the various possible shades of purple -- and, as you can tell from the name, it has a particularly strong association with the Roman tradition tying back t to the Roman emperors and senators.

But in addition to these elements, this particular chasuble also uses a slightly wider galloon than is often seen on many contemporary chasubles. I personally find this particularly pleasing and it brings me to mind of many Roman chasubles of old that I have seen. While it might seem a minor point, it really does change the visual character of the vestment to my mind, making it more substantial and masculine in character. This is especially so at the neckline. Frequently it is common to use a thinner galloon there (as is used also for the outer edging of the chasuble) and a wider galloon for the orphrey itself, but I personally prefer this doubled usage of the wider galloon both for that and for the portions immediately found around the neckline. 


Since we are discussing "Romanitas," some other particularly Roman elements seen here include the placement of the cross (seen above) on the maniple which sits at the point where it widens rather than in the middle of widened end. (The same would be the case on the stole.) 

Here are a couple of more images of the vestment:



For those interested, the vestment in question was made by Sacra Domus Aurea and they recently did another version of the same which included an embroidered stemma:


Really well executed all around and from a recent video shown of it, it looks very well constructed as well. 

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