Embroidery artefacts at the Senglea Basilica

‘Ecclesiastical embroidery’ refers to the fine stitch work executed exclusively for use in worship such as altar linens and vestments. Scripts, such as the Liber Pontificalis, confirm that liturgical vestments, enriched and ornately embroidered, can be traced back to early Christianity.

Nonetheless, no special ordinances have ever been issued by the Church in this regard, either as to their material, colour or design. Good taste, however, requires that such embroidery should harmonise with the character and colour-effect of the vestment.
Magnificently embroidered vestments appeared early in the 11th century and, up to the 13th century, embroidery in gold thread was the main ornamentation used for ecclesiastical purposes, reaching its fullest development in the first half of the 15th century.
While such artefacts coming from Spain, Germany and Belgium are rare in Maltese churches, French and Italian workmanship abounds. These latter proveniences adopt different systems. In the French method, the embroidery was knitted onto a pattern cut out of cardboard or leather upon which the gold thread was woven. The Italian system used cotton to bulge the embroidery, over which the gold...