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Cope
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Silk fabric woven in China with European motifs was transported by European traders by the early 16th century. This popular pattern features a crowned double-headed eagle grasping arrows in its claws above a vase emitting blossoming vines. The eagle motif was derived from the Habsburg coat of arms, rulers of Spain and Austria during the 1500s and 1600s. Vertical borders with Chinese flora occur near the selvages of the five silk lengths forming the cope. The gilt-metal braided and fringed hood and broad orphrey band, or ornamental border, along the front edges feature fashionable small-scale floral sprigs.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineCope, 1500s. China, Macao. Silk; overall: 124.5 x 276.9 cm (49 x 109 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 1950.6
