Embroidered Altar Frontal with Standing Saints

This tapestry frontal from the fourteenth century was made in Italy, but found its way to England, where it was owned by John Grandisson, bishop of Exeter (r. 1327-1369). Grandisson was an avid patron of the arts who had traveled widely in Europe, and he often imported works of art from continental Europe to England. His coat of arms was added to the panel in two places, to the garments of Saints Stephen and Lawrence (the second and fifth saints on the panel). By adding his heraldry to the garments of Stephen and Lawrence, both deacons, Bishop Grandisson associated himself with these revered servants of the Church. The cloth is made of linen cord wrapped in silver, and the vines surrounding the saints were embroidered to create a raised pattern, enhancing the reflective quality of the panel. It shows a parade of martyrs who would have probably flanked a central image of the Virgin, now lost. The references to the sacrifices of these saints would have called to mind the Eucharist, a rite celebrated in remembrance of Christ's sacrifice.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

John Grandisson, Bishop of Exeter (1292-1369); Bacri Antiquaire, Paris [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1973, by purchase.