Door hanging
AUTHOR
Girolamo Mariani (embroiderer), Francesco Giuliani (tailor)
PLACE/DATE
Italy, Rome, 1744-1749
MATERIALS
Crimson red Gros de Tours lamé in gilt silver embroidery (padding in moulded and cut yellow card) in gold relief (in metal wire, frisé, plate, purl and thin gold cord) in satin stitch and with various motifs created by holding stitches in yellow silk; crimson red taffeta linings and ribbons, fringes in gilt thread and gilt plate
DIMENSIONS
250 x 175 cm
INV
MT.123
Used to cover one of the side doors of the chapel of St. John the Baptist of the Church of São Roque, the door hanging has a surface entirely embroidered with a composition derived from the Roman Baroque tradition.
In it, one can recognise robust acanthus foliage arranged as a candelabra bordered by a frame obtained by the repetition of a semi-circular scroll motif ornamented internally on one or both sides with a small open flower.
This, and another splendid door hanging with which it is set, are the second of two liturgical vestments for solemn mass in the chapel of St. John the Baptist of the Church of São Roque, commissioned in Rome by King John V (1689-1750) on 9 March 1744. Made up of 26 pieces, it was intended for the celebration of Pentecost, to which the chapel was dedicated, and for the administration of the sacrament of confirmation or chrismation which, together with baptism and the Eucharist, constitute the three sacraments of Christian initiation of the Catholic Church.