Black Requiem Chasuble

Roman style chasuble (fiddleback) intended for funeral masses and masses for the dead. Made of voided velvet with a stylized pomegranate motif on a satin ground; black satin lining. Triangular rounded neck opening; front and back slightly rounded at the bottom, front distinctly shorter than the back. Edges and neck opening trimmed with gold cord. On the front chest, a gold-thread embroidered cross surrounded by a radiant halo. Around the lower edge runs a Latin inscription (laid work in gold bullion/purl): “Requiem aeternam donna eis / Domine / et lux perpetua luceat eis” (“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them”). The back features a column in the form of a cross surrounded by a radiant halo (appliqué and laid work in gold thread and bullion). At the intersection of the cross arms is the figure of Christ the King in a mandorla with depictions of clouds and stylized facial contours. Around the lower edge runs a Latin inscription: “Regem / cui omnia vivunt / venite / adoremus” (“The King for whom all things live, come, let us adore”).