The Nordic countries of Europe are not countries Catholics tend to jump to of when contemplating historical Catholic vestments. In point of fact, however, it has been my experience that it is precisely these countries that have within their possession,, some of the very best, extant examples of medieval and early Renaissance vestment work.
Case in point, in this particular instance I would turn your attention to Sweden and to the collections of the Småland Museum. The Museum has in their possession a beautiful, bell-shaped chasuble from the fifteenth century
As you will see, the chasuble is set onto a fashionable, period Renaissance velvet with the ever-popular pomegranate pattern of the time. The front contains no orphrey -- not uncommon for vestments of this period for both pragmatic as well as liturgical reasons -- while the back has a bit of textile 'spolia' in the form of a repurposed orphrey taken from an even earlier medieval vestment.
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| The front of the chasuble |
This orphrey comes in the form of a silk Latin cross featuring St. Anne and various apostles. Let's take a look it in some closer detail.
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| St. Anne holding the young Virgin Mary as well as the Christ Child |
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| St. Paul |
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| Detail, St. Paul |
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| An unidentified saint. |
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| St. Andrew |
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| St. Philip |
Finally, let's conclude by taking a closer look at that beautiful green velvet.
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