ANNE WANNER'S Textiles in History / book reviews, articles |
Museum Schnütgen, Die liturgischen
Gewänder, 11. bis 19. Jahrhundert,
Bestandskatalog von Gudrun Sporbeck, with patterns for
vestments by Dorit Köhler, with a contribution by
Annemarie Stauffer (chasuble of St. Anno), Cologne, 2001,
text in German, 488 pages. Lavishly illustrated with more
than 150 illustrations in colour, 147 designs of patterns
for vestments schnuetgen@netcologne.de Many thanks for kindly
correcting |
The Schnütgen Museum in Cologne preserves one of the most important collections of ecclesiastical art. Among other items it comprises 3500 fabrics, embroideries, tapestry weaves and more than 300 liturgical textiles, among them 147 vestments. The basis was laid by the collection of Alexander Schnütgen (1843-1918). For the first time the author studies these 145 vestments in a scholarly way and her inventory becomes a most important handbook to experts all over the world. |
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In
the introductory chapters, the author names some general
problems in researching vestments: Another problem lies in the fact that, in private collections which later became museum collections, important basis material is mostly completely absent. Only very few of Schnütgen's letters give information about his purchases or about how he acquired the vestments. There are no handwritten notes about the origin of the collection or about its formation or losses. The author has studied all the old museum catalogues. She devotes attention to the systems of compiling the inventory, evident from different handwritings. |
There is also an early photo documentation. In the years 1883-84, Schnütgen commissioned the photographer Anselm Schmitz to work on his collection. In April 1910, his pupil and successor Emil Herman received another commission. |
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No further sources exist, so
that the basis for information lies in the
vestments themselves. All the vestments are
presented individually. For the first time, the fronts of
the vestments are also photographed. The author precisely analyses the materials. |
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In an additional article,
A. Stauffer analyses the fabric and the original
pattern of the chasuble of St. Anno (1056-1075). Today
the vestment shows a Gothic shape, but, as the fabric
must have been woven in Byzantium around 1000 it was
obviously altered in the Gothic period (second half of
15th century.) An additional article by Dorith Köhler dealing with the alterations of vestments appears in the appendix to the publication. Obviousely most of the vestments Schnütgen collected are from the Middle Ages and have been altered, so that today they are not preserved in their original form. The development of these patterns has been investigated here for the first time. Up to now, research has not examined the aspect of alteration of vestments. The research in this field demonstrates the reception of medieval art in the 19th century and how problems were viewed more than 100 years ago. Methods of conservation changed greatly especially during this period. |
The catalogue Forming the main part of the publication (pp. 53 - 415) the catalogue section very precisely analyses 147 vestments. The vestments are described in chronological order, the fabrics being more important than the embroideries. Sometimes regional groups can be found. For the first time, stole, maniple, chalice veils which belong to chasuables, copes, dalmatics have also been treated. In this way all the parts of vestments are now grouped together.. |
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In additional chapters, Gudrun
Sporbeck researches the embroideries on the
Cologne vestments. This study is devided into two periods: early development and later Renaissance embroideries, a study that can be found in the chapter on Cologne embroideries in the 17th century: |
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Some questions arose
concerning the research work on the inventory. But it was
possible to name some of them only briefly in the
publication. More attention is given to the development
of embroidery in the Rhineland: Gudrun Sporbeck gives a survey of all the studies done on Cologne embroidery . Franz Bock was the first author to publish on the topic "Kölner Borte". In her further study, G. Sporbeck deals with the development of tapestry weaves and embroideries in and around Cologne. In her own research, she concentrates on an important chasuble in the Schnütgen collection with applications from the late 15th century. This vestment very probably holds a key position in the development in the 17th century. The author analyses a group of quite similar chasubles in different collections and churches. This study gives a first idea of Renaissance embroidery in this region, the examples in question also showing the survival of embroidery in 17th century. |
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Other examples of vestments in the chronological order of the catalogue: |
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home content gold embroidery |
Last
revised January 10, 2004 some corrections June 12, 2004 |
For further information contact Anne Wanner wanner@datacomm.ch |