Chasuble early 18th century Portuguese Constructed from two different fabrics, this chasuble was probably made and used in Portugal in a Jesuit context. The body of the garment is a Portuguese white silk of the late seventeenth—early eighteenth century brocaded with polychrome silk and chenille yarns. The bright white satin ground of the center panels at front and back are embroidered with silk and silver threads; the materials of this center panel, including the satin ground fabric, are likely from Asia.¹ Narrow metallic woven bands, or galloons, outline the panels and neckline.²A variety of

Chasuble early 18th century Portuguese Constructed from two different fabrics, this chasuble was probably made and used in Portugal in a Jesuit context. The body of the garment is a Portuguese white silk of the late seventeenth—early eighteenth century brocaded with polychrome silk and chenille yarns. The bright white satin ground of the center panels at front and back are embroidered with silk and silver threads; the materials of this center panel, including the satin ground fabric, are likely from Asia.¹ Narrow metallic woven bands, or galloons, outline the panels and neckline.²A variety of images—including fanciful fountains, unicorns amid cypress trees, spotted leopards, peacocks with tails in full display, and several figures including Hercules and the haloed Christ Child—have been scattered by the weaver throughout the largely secular brocade of the side panels.³ In contrast, the subject matter of the embroidered center panels is entirely Christian. On the front panel are the embroidered initials IHS, the Latin anagram for Jesus Christ used by the Jesuits, while the back panel bears a superimposed A and M for "Ave Maria" (or Hail Mary), the archangel Gabriel’s salutation to the Virgin as reported in Luke 1:28. Above the two letters is a crown, and the entire image is surrounded by lilies. An embroidered inscription, qui pascitu inter lilia, a phrase from the Song of Songs (6:3) that translates as "He who feedeth among the lilies," surrounds a silver Paschal Lamb (representing the Lamb of God). Other Christian symbols in the panels include the Pelican in Her Piety, a flowering rose, and a silver pomegranate. The many references to the Virgin in the imagery suggest that this chasuble was used in a convent or in a Jesuit church dedicated to Marian devotion.⁴This elaborate embroidery, with its variety of silk and metallic threads, shares traits and materials from both Portugal and Asia. The multicolor bands that represent the pelican, for example, are

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