(De)Constructing the Madonna’s Cloth of Honor

Abstract

Abstract The present study centers on pieced textiles included in Marian paintings of the Proto-Renaissance era rendered in Tuscany. The complex geometric patterns of these cloths mimic those found in the Islamic textiles that were then being imported into Europe, consumed by the aristocracy, and later imitated by Italian cloth makers. On a basic level, their colors and patterning reference the virtues of the Virgin, her mission to bring about the Incarnation of Christ, her selflessness, virtuous character, and majesty. They also contribute to her humanization since these are material objects that belonged in the aristocratic domestic setting and which were familiar to the patrons who paid for the works. On a deeper level, they provide complex layers of meaning, some of which derive from Moorish iconography. They reference the perfection of God’s creation and the promise of an affable afterlife. They also evoke the remote lands where the lives of the Virgin and Christ unfolded. By inserting pieced cloths into Marian iconography, artists were following a long established tradition of utilizing the piecing technique in Early Medieval sacred practice, an issue that until now has not been recognized.