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Cope

1500s
Silk
Overall: 124.5 x 276.9 cm (49 x 109 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1950.6
Location: not on view
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Description

Silk fabric woven in China with European motifs was transported by European traders by the early 16th century. This popular pattern features a crowned double-headed eagle grasping arrows in its claws above a vase emitting blossoming vines. The eagle motif was derived from the Habsburg coat of arms, rulers of Spain and Austria during the 1500s and 1600s. Vertical borders with Chinese flora occur near the selvages of the five silk lengths forming the cope. The gilt-metal braided and fringed hood and broad orphrey band, or ornamental border, along the front edges feature fashionable small-scale floral sprigs.
Cope

Cope

1500s

China, Macao

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