St. Thomas a Becket Conical Chasuble!
A very wonderful Monsignor from Bath, PA greatly desired a purple conical set in the style of St. Thomas a Becket. While you will certainly recall Chaucer's famous pilgrimage stories of "Canterbury Tales", you may not remember that this great saint suffered a very brutal martyrdom while Archbishop of Canterbury in the 12th Century.
We did a lot of research together to insure the details were as authentic as possible to the ancient set, which is still amazingly preserved at Sens. The "hood" and front chest detail are hand embroidered in a motif which was termed "the flower" in its time. |
As it was customary for gemstones to be incorporated into this mass of tendrils, we included both pearls and garnets. The brocade is Winchester (a very rich red-brown purple). I hope to add photos of its use in the Mass later so you can see the graceful folds of this ancient chasuble design. |
A single antique sparks a new Solemn White Set The well-worn hand embroidery of a fragile antique cope was going to be painstakingly transferred to new silks and become part of a new Solemn Set. While the embroidery was lovely, the work to accomplish this task was not practical -- especially when the antique had already offered so many years of service. It could never match the new pieces and would ever be fragile and tarnished.
The solution came in the form of an entirely new embroidery set which was inspired by the antique which was so beloved. See a couple of the pieces here. 
The focal point of the chasuble will be this Agnus Dei in gold metal threads.
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Antique embroidery...
Antique embroidery...
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New hand embroidery!
New hand embroidery!
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New hand-embroidery!
Mass of Thanksgiving Set for newly ordained priest in North Carolina
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The priest who commissioned this Mass of Thanksgiving set recently completed his studies in Rome and was ordained to the holy priesthood Saturday, June 22 in Charlotte, NC. His First Mass was offered in the Extraordinary Form.
While the floral design of passion flowers and grape leaves was inspired by a time-worn antique, this is no antique. Every stitch is brand new, hand embroidery. The antique vestment's liturgical symbols were changed to suit the devotions of the priest to create something truly personal. On the chasuble front, a pair of stags bow below the Sacred Heart -- Psalms 42:1 "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God." On the back, the Lamb is encircled by a crown of thorns, standing on the Book of Seven Seals, adorned of leather and red garnet gemstones. See photos of Fr. Jason Christian's First Mass here at New Liturgical Movement. 
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Three Mass of Thanksgiving Sets...
ST. CHARLES BORROMEO... A silk damask chasuble in the style of St. Charles Borromeo for a newly ordained priest in St. Louis, Missouri. (click to see more)
SOLEMN HIGH MASS...Three pieces of a 13 piece set made in real metal brocade for a newly ordained priest in Lake Charles, Louisiana. (click to see more)
SOLEMN HIGH MASS...Three pieces of the Solemn High Mass set in white and gold brocade for a newly ordained priest in Tyler, TX.
This white and real metal brocade was made into a Solemn High Mass set for the First Mass of a newly ordained priest in Texas.
Holy Mother Church provides an abundance of rich symbolism for this set... Signifying the 5 wounds of Christ, faceted garnets ("carbuncles" of old) are stitched on the points and center of 19 bullion crosses. A handmade embroidery of passion-flowers in gold bullion surround an antique Agnus Dei embroidery incorporate into this set. (Learn more about Church symbolism on the "What is that?" page.) |
We just couldn't stop with the Benediction Set!
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The inspiration for the set.
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Basketweave detail of the crown.
A closeup of the hand-embroidered silk, metal and Japan gold threads.
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The finished design of chasuble consists of all new hand embroideries of passion flowers and the text "Ecce Agnus Dei" surrounding an antique embroidery (red center).
 Close up detail of the equisite handwork. “… it is indispensably necessary for the ecclesiastical artists, not only to understand the true forms and symbolical significations of the sacred vestments and other adornments of the church, but also how to apply the various decorations in a consistent manner to the edification of the faithful, and as lively illustrations of the Sacred Mysteries.” -- Augustus Welby Pugin from Glossary of Ecclesiastical Ornament and Costume, 1868 
A brand new hand-embroidered Lamb of God. The metal bullion "wool" fibers are the same as those in the antique below -- though new and untarnished. The face and legs are silk.
 An antique embroidery resumes its place of honor.  Fr. Saguto, FSSP, blesses the Parish's new vestments before their first use at the High Mass on Pentecost Sunday. (Watch the Latin Rite Blessing of Vestments by clicking the link: 'What is That'.)  Still available today, the finished chasuble includes the same "spiral" style gold galloons (French for "ribbon") just as in the antique model. |
All Dominican Souls Solemn High Requiem MassFr. Boniface Willard, O.P. blesses a 14 piece Solemn High Requiem Mass Set prior
to it's first use on the altar, November 8, 2012 at Blessed Sacrament Church in Seattle, WA. The set is made of a lovely black and silver metal brocade. The black velvet orphreys of the gothic style chasuble, cope, burse, humeral and chalice veil are adorned with hand embroidered passionflowers in silver metal and bullion threads. The dalmatic dimensions were "lifted" from an existing antique in the diocese. Solemn sets are usually 12-13 pieces in size. The fourteenth piece here is the "mappa" which rests across the laps of the celebrant and deacons when seated during particular parts of the Mass. Click the photos below to see this beautiful Dominican Parish, Blessed Sacrament, as well as a few details of their new set. Read also on New Liturgical Movement about the vestments.  A MOCKUP - We create new vestments from clients' antique photos.
We recreate the treasures of the past... Combining the highest quality materials and workmanship with careful research of beautiful surviving antique vestments, we are able to create sets like the treasures that once graced our Holy Catholic altars. The real metal red brocade chasuble you see here is part of a new Solemn High Mass set. The parish who commissioned this set found an intact 12-piece antique set they loved, but simply could not afford the price to purchase. We were able to replicate the design of that longed-for antique set for a fraction of the cost of the original pieces. Of course, we retained the high quality materials found in the original set. We used real metal brocade, handloomed silk, gold bullion fringe and even antique embroideries. The result was even more brilliant than the years-old set and more durable. But more importantly, it is ready for years of worship at the Holy altar. Our Vestments are made of... · silk damasks · real metal-woven fabrics and trims · genuine freshwater pearls, garnets, and gemstones as appropriate · brocades and rich velvets · hand-made gold bullion embroideries and fringes · 100% linen and 100% hand-loomed silks for linings · unbleached muslin and canvas for interfacings We take care to lift the dimensions directly from surviving pieces whenever possible, to retain the integrity of the traditional styles as needed. We also insure that Church symbolism is designed into every piece just as the vestments of old -- retaining the age-old traditions and meanings that used to be handed down among vestment makers. |