A Belgian Needle-Painted Mitre from 1592

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) have a number of interesting objects of liturgical art in their collection, including this precious mitre dated to circa 1592.  The V&A suggest the mitre was made in Flanders (Belgium) and it very much falls within the late medieval and Renaissance traditions.  It was during this period that the height of mitres were continuing to grow, leading up toward the taller mitres we are familiar with today, but at this period they still had a tendency toward figurative ornamentation. (See our article on the History and Development of the Mitre if you're interested in learning more about this topic.) 

This particular mitre showcases the maturing art of embroidery, including, as it does, very refined embroideries in the needle-painting tradition -- a technique where the embroiderer utilizes threading and stitching that mimics the appearance of a painting with all of it its textures and shading, resulting in relatively refined depictions.

This particular mitre includes embroidered images of the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. Augustine, St. Peter and St. Paul, St. Barbara and St. Leonard.

The reverse side of the mitre, which is the say, the back side, is the side that contains St. Leonard and St. Barbara, as well as Ss. Peter and Paul (seen on the lappets).  The V&A suggests that as St. Leonard "was less well-known, but had a following in England, France and Germany...  the choice of him as an appropriate saint for this mitre suggests that it was made for use in a church in one of these countries, probably France." 

The suggestion of France as its destined place of use is further supported by the fact that there is an internal inscription inside the mitre written in French:

"'Cette mittre est fait par le premier abbé, mittré 1592, et restaure par Joannes Becker, maître brodery en 1766 sous le regne de Monsieur L'Abbé Gosin.'" (Trans: "This mitre was made for the first abbot, mitred in 1592, and was restored by Joannes Becker, master embroiderer in 1766, during the reign of Abbé Gosin.")

Back of the mitre, showing St. Leonard and St. Barbara

Lappets with St. Paul and St. Peter

On the front of the mitre we find the Virgin and St. Augustine. One will also note that at the peak of the mitre we see angels holding a shield -- which is likely the shield of either the particular Abbot or monastery for whom the mitre was made.  It is also worth observing that, as was so frequently the case during the Renaissance period, all of these figurative embroideries have been frame by architectural elements in the form of columns and windows with gothic tracery.

The front of the mitre, showing the Virgin and Child and St. Augustine

Speaking to the exquisite quality of the embroidery found on this mitre, the V&A itself offers the following comments:

It is likely that such skilled needlework was executed in a professional workshop or in a convent. Embroidery workshops existed in large towns by the Renaissance, governed by guild rules over the training of apprentices, the preparation of embroidery materials and the execution of the needlework. In convents, nuns often exercised their needles in the service of the church by making vestments, as well as teaching girls the requisite skills of a well-brought up woman: embroidery, reading and writing.

Certainly we here at LAJ would agree with their assessment, for this is clearly not an amateur level of embroidery, but instead represents the work of a well-established and well-practiced tradition. 

Let's take a closer look. 

It really is a stunning and striking piece of liturgical art, representing the very rich symbolic tradition of the Medieval and Renaissance periods of liturgical art.

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