Pim Arts, curator Dordrechts Museum, visiting the TRC to inspect the recent donation of liturgical vestments. Photograph by Herra Pahlasari.by Christina de Korte, intern at the TRC from Utrecht University, 9 November 2024

In the last couple of weeks, visitors to the Textile Research Centre (TRC) in Leiden could see two clothing racks filled with colourful silk chasubles, dalmatics, and other types of liturgical vestments, which were donated by Marjolijn van Scherpenzeel (Hartendief, Leiden). These items are intriguing on various levels, for example, from a technical perspective, looking at the production methods of the garments, or from an art historical viewpoint, focussing on the pattern design, but also with particular attention for the religious usage of the textiles. As a student of religious studies, I was excited when these items arrived, especially because my main research focus is on textiles that are used in religious settings.

On the 31st October 2024, curator and researcher Pim Arts (Dordrechts Museum) came to the TRC to discuss these new TRC items and to provide more historical and social context. Pim has extensive knowledge about liturgical vestments and has curated, among other events, the exhibition Fashion for God at the Museum Catharijneconvent (2023) in Utrecht. The exhibition focused on liturgical outfits in clandestine Catholic churches in the (Protestant) north of the Netherlands from the late sixteenth to the early nineteenth century. An important element in the exhibition was the recycling of textiles, and this aspect also plays an prominent role in the importance of the recent donation.

Dalmatic with older (16th century) panels. Europe, 18th century (TRC 2024.3055).

Patchwork of centuries

The largest group of objects are seventeen complete chasubles (plus three incomplete examples). Pim noted that the chasubles were and are the most important item in a set of liturgical clothing. Furthermore, the donation includes six dalmatics, two humeral veils, one cope, seven chalice covers and three burses.

Piece of red and yellow brocade, 17th century. Van Gerwen Collection (TRC 2011.0416).

Pim and Gillian agreed that most of the items can be identified as French or Belgian, based on the cut of the chasubles and dalmatics. Whilst the majority of the items can be dated to the eighteenth century, some of them, especially some of the chasubles and the dalmatics, consist of textiles from other time periods. In this context, the silk samples that are part of the Van Gerwen collection, also in the TRC Collection, such as TRC 2011.0412 or TRC 2011.0416, were very helpful to identify and date some of the fabrics, since similar patterns and materials are used.

Pim explained how materials that were donated to churches, could be used or recycled much later. Moreover, the material could also be taken from other objects or textiles within the church. Pim gave an example of how, after the Reformation, the priest’s movement became more important during the liturgy, and therefore the cut of the chasubles became slimmer, so the priest’s hands and arms could move more easily and be seen. The left-over material, from pre-Reformation period, was thereupon often recycled for smaller objects, such as burses (see TRC 2024.2936, TRC 2024.2937 and TRC 2024.2938).

A liturgical burse made from a silk cloth with a woven pattern of paisley (buteh) motifs and other floral forms. Europe, 18th century (TRC 2024.2936).

Furthermore, many of the chasubles seem to have been re-sewn at a later date with machine stitching (especially to stitch down decorative, yellow bands), and in some cases a new lining was added at a later date.

Pim advised to focus on three moments in the realization of the garments to date them correctly, namely, when the textiles were produced, the date of assemblage, and when they may have been re-used or re-stitched.

Surprising usages

In an earlier blog, we talked about two panels of strapwork that date to the late sixteenth century (TRC 2024.2934a-b). We called them wall hangings, however, Pim explained that rectangular pieces like these could be used as pillar hangings that decorated church pillars, which was a practice known in some Catholic churches, such as that in Utrecht.

Jacket made from various pieces of chasubles. Europe, 20th century (TRC 2024.3071).

While discussing other long, but much wider, rectangular pieces (TRC 2024.3061 and TRC 2024.3065), Gillian and I could not completely figure out the possible usages of these four items. At first, we thought the pieces could have been used as some form of altar covering. Nonetheless, Pim suggested that two rectangular pieces are humeral veils, which were worn by priests. First of all, it is common to use linen for altars, instead of silk. In addition, the measurements of the pieces correspond with those generally used for such garments. The silk of the humeral veils has some interesting details. One of the humeral veils (TRC 2024.3061) is likely to be a re-dyed purple, according to Gillian. This veil also seems to have stitching holes, which indicates that this fabric could have been used as another piece of clothing before it became a veil.

Fiddleback chasuble, with a patch added to the central part to cover a worn area (where the priest rubs against the altar). Europe, 19th century (TRC 2024.3044).The recycling of textiles was not only happening in order to create liturgical vestments, but also used in turn, as one unique item of this collection shows; a jacket (TRC 2024.3071) that is made out of multiple parts of the liturgical textiles and appears to have been made for a fancy dress party or perhaps for carnival (held in February each year). The two incomplete chasubles (TRC 2024.3051 and TRC 2024.1859) are missing their back panels and these appear to be made of the same type of cloth (re)used for the jacket. The question remains: to what extent was it common to use liturgical textiles for 'secular' purposes, as opposed to the more 'normal' process of 'secular' garments (especially women’s formal dresses) being made into religious items.

The advantage of damage

Pim told us that this donation might not be unique or of the best quality, especially as there are similar religious vestments in museum collections or churches that are in a better condition. What makes this particular donation interesting and extremely relevant are the traces of usage and damage. These traces tell us a lot about the (re)usage of the items and how they were cared for. Pim showed us that almost all of the chasubles have been repaired and/or had patches added at the front of the garment. This part often had to be repaired since the stomach of the priest tended to rub against the altar during a service, resulting in the cloth in this area being damaged.

Part of a chasuble, Europe, 18th century (TRC 2024.3070). It is made up of four layers of cloth.Another advantage, due to the damage condition of some of the pieces, is that it is possible to look very closely at the structure of the textiles and the construction of the garments. It shows, for example, how the items are layered and what material is used. One piece (TRC 2024.3070), for example, was made of four layers of cloth rather than the expected three. It would appear that someone had simply covered an old lining with a new one and did not remove the older material.

Furthermore, it gives a better insight into the various weaves and embellishments, such as embroidery. It also means that there are now samples of fibres, dyed threads, metal threads, etc., that can be used for technical analysis of, for example, eighteenth century woven silks. If these pieces would have been in a very good condition, there would have been many handling and research limitations! All in all, this donation opens a lot of new doors for research in various different disciplines.