Embroidery with leopards, Cl. 20367 a,b © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Embroidery with leopards, Cl. 20367 a,b © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Embroidery with leopards, Cl. 20367 a,b (detail) © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Embroidery with leopards, Cl. 20367 a,b (detail) © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Embroidery with leopards, Cl. 20367 a,b (detail) © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Embroidery with leopards, Cl. 20367 a,b (detail) © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Embroidery with leopards

Description

Not on display

Circa 1330 - 1340

Late Middle Ages

These embroidered fragments are decorated with stylised leopards set against a backdrop of foliage interspersed by courtly figures. They come from a horse caparison, probably commissioned by King Edward III of England: the three passant leopards were the coat of arms of England before 1340. This cover was later turned into a chasuble.

The embroidery with leopards, of which the Musée de Cluny holds other fragments, is one of the most exquisite examples of "opus anglicanum" (English mediaeval embroidery).
 

From one artwork to another

Tenture de la Vie Seigneuriale, La Promenade, Cl. 2178 © GrandPalaisRmn / Franck Raux

La Vie Seigneuriale

Début du XVIe siècle

Pilgrimage badge, Notre-Dame, Cl. 4697 © GrandPalaisRmn / Michel Urtado

Pilgrimage badges

13th century - 14th century - 15th century