The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 19, 2025
Alb
Embroidered Linen: 1600s; Bobbin Lace (Point d’Angleterre) Flounce: 1700s
Location: Not on view
Description
This beautiful vestment, called an alb, was worn under other liturgical garments by the clergy who served at the altar. Embroidered with gilt-metal thread flora on a linen ground, it is trimmed with a flounce and cuffs of lace, the most fashionable and expensive material at the time. Its purple silk lining indicates that it belonged to an archbishop. The exquisitely worked bobbin lace consists of two large composite floral designs flanked by popular curved forms on an elaborate bar ground that repeats ten times around the flounce.- Mayer-Thurman, Christa C., John Maxon, Aidan Kavanagh, Donald L. Garfield, and Horace T. Allen. Raiment for the Lord's Service: A Thousand Years of Western Vestments. Chicago: Art Institute, 1975. no. 83, p. 194 illus, p. 48Mackie, Louise W. “Opulent Fashion in the Church: A celebration of Jeptha H. Wade II's magnificent textile donations.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 57, no. 1 (January/February 2017): 8-9. Reproduced and Mentioned: P. 9 archive.org
- Opulent Fashion in the Church. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 19, 2016-October 2, 2017).Raiment for the Lord's Service, A Thousand Years of Western Vestments. The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (November 11, 1975-January 18, 1976).The Ikle and Jacoby Collection of Laces and Embroideries. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 25-June 3, 1962).
- {{cite web|title=Alb|url=false|author=|year=Embroidered Linen: 1600s; Bobbin Lace (Point d’Angleterre) Flounce: 1700s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1920.1260