Made of rich velvet and lavishly embroidered in gold and polychrome silk, this chasuble is one of several vestments from a liturgical set that was reputedly created for the royal chapel at Versailles (completed in 1710). According to the family who preserved them, as Parisian mobs descended on the palace grounds in October 1789, the set was removed at the command of Marie-Antoinette by Henri Evrard, Marquis de Dreux-Brézé, grand master of ceremonies under Louis XVI, and a lady-inwaiting, the Marquise de La Rochelambert. The set comprises nine pieces: a chasuble, worn by the main celebrant of the Catholic Mass; identical dalmatics with matching maniples, worn by the deacons; three stoles, worn over the arm; and the burse, used to carry the corporal (the cloth used in the celebration of the Eucharist).

The sacrificial lamb—a symbol of Christ—and the Book with Seven Seals illuminate the chasuble’s back, evoking the Resurrection; the clusters of grapes and wheat signify the bread and wine of the Eucharist. The imagery may refer to either the revelation of Saint John the Theologian (described in Revelation 6) or the Passion and Crucifixion of Christ. The set’s iconography and exquisite workmanship suggest that it was intended to be worn on Palm Sunday, Good Friday, or a feast day. Perhaps most striking is the vestments’ application of or nué embroidery, sometimes known as “needle painting.” Practiced only by master embroiderers in the king’s embroidery guild, this technique created luminous shading with finely stitched tonal silk over gold threads. jkd & llc