These fragments
appear to have at one time formed parts of a
vestment. The work is in gold thread and
silks on a silk ground, now faded to pale
brown. The subjects are figures of apostles
and saints beneath canopies. The shields of
arms beneath some of the figures are of great
interest as giving a close date to the work.
The arms are those of Clinton and Leyburne.
William de Clinton, first Earl of Huntingdon,
married Juliana de Leyburne in 1329; and
the embroideries, doubtless, have some con-
nection with that event.
A very beautiful example of embroidery *
of about the same period as the Catworth
cushions, or perhaps a few years earlier, is
partly illustrated in colour on Plate B (also
Plate 15). It is a band of deep red velvet, the
embroidery being in gold, silver, and coloured
silks. The band is in two sections, and may
perhaps have formed the apparels of an alb.
There are ten subjects included within an
arcade of broad arches, and separated from
one another by delicately wrought buttresses.
The first five subjects are taken from the life
of the Virgin Mary, and are as follows
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