Early modern patterned textiles on liturgical items in Archdiocese of Zadar : volume I and II

Banić, Silvija. (2016). Early modern patterned textiles on liturgical items in Archdiocese of Zadar : volume I and II. PhD Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of Art History.
(Poslijediplomski doktorski studij povijesti umjetnosti) [mentor Tomić, Radoslav].

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Abstract

Liturgical items made of historical textiles, preserved not only in the Archdiocese of Zadar, but also in other parts of the country, have not been subject to systematic research in Croatia and in domestic scholarly literature were mainly discussed within voluminous museum collection studies, prominent sacred art inventories or cultural and historical heritage overviews of certain religious orders. Primarily, the fundamental objective of this research as defined was to determine the corpus of Early Modern patterned textiles preserved on liturgical items in the territory of the Archdiocese of Zadar, their chronological and typological systematization, evaluation and contextualization within identical and previously known domestic and European heritage. In this regard, a significant number of foreign scholarly titles consulted in order to draw attention to the related or comparative examples preserved in European and North American museums and sacred art collections should be noted. Furthermore, it should be taken into account that the subject of discussion includes patterned textiles, i.e. those with derivative décor, regardless of their composition. Namely, the focus is not only on patterned silk fabrics since it was considered necessary to include both the examples that are not exclusively silk-woven but can consist of linen or wool threads. Aside from monochrome, plain textiles, contemporary textile items whose ornaments are made in various embroidery techniques are also omitted from the catalogue. The term ‘Early Modern’ provides time frame of the research, that is, the objective of catalogue unification of the textiles made in the period from the beginning of the 15th century till the end of the 18th century and preserved to this day. The term ‘Liturgical items’ includes all the items used in Roman Catholic rites or for the purpose of equipping church interiors which are entirely or partially made of textile. Among the liturgical items on which Early Modern textiles are recognized, that remained preserved in the area of the Archdiocese of Zadar, certainly the most numerous are the upper parts of the Mass vestments (chasubles, dalmatics, copes, stoles and maniples), followed by pieces of equipment for the chalice (chalice veil and burse) with unfortunately rare examples of processional canopies, missal cushions, tabernacles and reliquaries’ lining and objects intended for decorating sacred place (coated pieces of furniture, architectural elements’ coverings and lectern covers). The main scientific contribution of this work, along with reinterpretation and detailed analysis of a small number of previously known examples and published archival documents, is the presentation of a significant amount of the so far unknown Early Modern patterned textiles, not only those preserved in the Archdiocese of Zadar, but also those which are related (in many cases identical) and also previously unpublished textiles on liturgical items documented in other parts of Croatia, with particular emphasis on the Adriatic Croatia. Thanks to the extensive area of research area i.e. having examined a large amount of reference textile preserved from the same period it was possible to provide answers to questions about certain regularities in examples sharing common decorative typology and origin, and on matters of taste of the domestic clients and methods (places) of procurement of the patterned textile. In addition to field research, thesis work has included interpretation of published and unpublished archival sources produced within the given time frame. The main objective was to collect as many facts available on the amount and types of textile items in churches in what is now the Archdiocese, which is the basic precondition in an attempt to reconstruct the former level of equipment of local churches with liturgical items made of textiles and comparisons (collation) with the amount and types of items preserved to this day. Furthermore, the data brought in the elaborate catalogue entries of the preserved textiles, including the results of thorough technical analysis made in accordance with the standards set by the international organization CIETA (Centre International d'Études des Textiles Anciens) are to be considered as valuable sources of information. Thesis presents a rounded corpus of Early Modern patterned textile in the area of the Archdiocese of Zadar, since it delivers credible, hitherto unknown answers to questions on the amount, type, time and place of origin of these works of art preserved to this day in the said area, as well as the previously unknown information about the equipment of the local churches and monasteries with textile items during the period from the beginning of the 15th century by the end of the 18th century. For this reason this work can be regarded as a reference sum of useful information, and as such is of importance for the future researchers, not only domicile but also overseas, who may find the catalogue entries, numerous photographs and snapshots taken by digital microscope and finally the attached transcribed archival documents to be of their special interest.

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