A Unique Dominican 'Memento' Cope


Here is a rather distinctive cope that feature saints of the Dominican Order. The cope presently is housed within the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. The fact is exclusively features Dominican saints is, of course, interesting, but that is not the main reason why I say it is unique. What makes it unique are its stylistic qualities, which have a very -- shall we call it -- rustic, folk art sort of quality to it. 

To give you a sense of what I mean, let's take a closer look at the shield of the cope, which features an image of the Virgin and Christ Child handing rosaries to two Dominican saints, St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena.  We can also find various angels, a palm and sword, as well as the distinctive arms of the Dominican order. What's more, in addition to the various vines, leaves and flowers we can find, there are also three leaf clovers found throughout the design. The use of the three leaf clovers here may well reference the fact that this cope was commissioned for Peter Killikelly, O.P., an Irish Dominican who would go on to become bishop of Kilmacduagh in 1744 -- though this cope is itself dated to 1737 please note, and it is thought to have been produced by a Portuguese atelier. 

Here is a closer look at the orphreys of the cope. You will see that the orphreys also include depictions of Our Lady and St. Joseph in addition to the Dominican saints, but of course it is the Dominican flavour that is the dominant trend here. Around the Virgin we read: "Mater Salvatoris memento mei nunc et in hora mortis" (which basically translates to "Mother of the Savour, remember me now and at the hour of death").  Beneath the Virgin are found images of three Dominican saints: St. Rose of Lima, St. Hyacinth and St. Vincent Ferrer. 


The Virgin interestingly embraces an image of the Holy Spirit and she is also crowned by an IHS Christogram. 


The clasp of the cope continues this theme of remembrance in death, showcasing an image of an angel, blowing a trumpet of Revelation in the direction of various mortal remains and it also includes an English script saying: "Arise you dead and come to judgement."


On the other orphrey of the cope we find, as mentioned, St. Joseph, as well as three more Dominican saints: St. Agnes of Montepulciano, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Peter Martyr. 


The main body of the cope is itself filled will all sorts of vegetal motifs as well as various symbolic birds, each of which can be tied to this theme of death, judgement and eternal life. 


The Pelican in Her Piety - a symbol of Christ's self-giving sacrifice

A peacock -- an symbolic Christian image of eternal life.

A dove holding an olive branch, representing peace, deliverance and forgiveness.

At the very bottom of the cope, along the hem, we find a classical vase (from whence all these flowers and vines spring forth), and here we also find the dedicatory inscription -- once again in English -- telling us who the cope was made for and when:


With all of the imagery related to death and judgement, one might be rather curious about the colour. First off, it is not a red cope, but actually a violet cope. While violet makes more sense than red in relation to that imagery, that still might be confusing, but what must be remembered is that in the Dominican rite, black vestments can be substituted for violet.  As such, I suspect a cope like this was intended to be used at requiems, on All Souls Day (and especially the corresponding feast of All Souls of the Dominican Order) and potentially other times as well. 

If that whet's your appetite a bit and you are interested in reading more about the use of liturgical colours in the Dominican rite, I would point you to Fr. Augustine Thompson's article, Liturgical Colours in the Dominican Rite.

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