Needle-lace chasuble
81.6 x 108.9 cm
Museum Collection
This chasuble, an ecclesiastical vestment worn by a priest officiating at a mass, was intended for rare and solemn occasions. The flowers and foliage volutes of the "point de Venise" needle lace are carefully worked to fit the shape of the garment. The motifs themselves do not seem to have any religious significance. Instead, the silk ground corresponds to a liturgical color. Although today it is a light salmon pink, the silk may once have been a deeper pink hue. Until the early twentieth century, the color pink was usually worn once during the church year, on the fourth Sunday of Lent, which was called Laetare Sunday or Rose Sunday in honor of the pope's blessing of the golden rose on that day. From the early twentieth century this chasuble belonged to the Viennese Gutmann family, who owned banks and large businesses in Austria. In 1938. the Jewish family had to flee Austria and their art collection was subsequently confiscated by the Nazis. Part of the collection, including this chasuble, was returned to Rudolf von Gutmann (1880-1966) in 1954. His heirs later sold the chasuble on the art market and in 2004 Textilmuseum St. Gallen purchased it with the support of Iklé-Frischknecht-Foundation.