Göss Vestments

Type: Garments, Textiles, Vestments
Date: 1250s
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country): Austria
Medium: Linen, Silk
Dimensions: cope 132 × 310 cm, altar frontal 106 × 298 cm
Description: An altar frontal and several liturgical garments were embroidered by the aristocratic nuns of Göss Abbey to clothe the priests who performed services on their behalf. These works of silk on linen are well preserved because they were used only once each year during a mass to commemorate the convent's founder. The abbess who donated the works to the clergy, Kunegunde (r. 1239–69), is memorialized in inscriptions and images on several of the vestments . This figural decoration complements biblical imagery, animals, and geometric ornament.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s): 8
Repository and Online Resources: • Read about the cope and related objects on the MAK website.
Image Credits: © MAK–Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna. Used by permission.
Tags: Works in textbook, Christian, Western European, Access to the sacred, Artistic production, Connections to the past, Status and identity, Animals, Bible, Clothing and adornment, Monasticism, Women, Latin

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Göss Vestments, tunic
© MAK–Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna
Göss Vestments, cope Göss Vestments, chasuble, front Göss Vestments, chasuble, back Göss Vestments, dalmatic Göss Abbey, altar frontal