This fine cope is of the same set a part of which was the beautiful chasuble No. 78, and, while made of precisely the same costly materials, is wrought with equal care and art. Its large fine hood is figured with the coming down of the Holy Ghost upon the infant Church, represented by the Blessed Virgin Mary amid the Apostles, and not merely this subject itself, but the crimson colour of the velvet would lead us to think that the whole set of vestments was intended for use on Witsunday. On the orphrey, on the right hand, the first saint is St. John the Baptist, with the Holy Lamb; then, Pope St. Gregory the Great; afterwards, an archbishop, may be St. Antoninus; after him a layman-saint with an arrow, and seemingly clad in armour, perhaps St. Sebastian; on the left side, St. George with banner and shield; under him St. Jerome, below whom, a bishop; and lowermost of all St. Onuphrius, hermit, holding in one hand a cross on a staff, in the other a walkingstick, and quite naked, saving his loins, round which he wears a wreath of leaves. All these subjects are admirably treated, and the heads done with the delicacy and truth of miniatures. 84. Hood of a Cope, figured with the Adoration of the Wise Men. Flemish, 16th century. 1 foot 8½ inches wide, 1 foot 4½ inches deep. This is one of the best preserved and the most beautiful works of the period in the collection, and is remarkable for the goodness of the gold, which is so plentifully bestowed upon it. It is somewhat large, and the three long hooks by which it used to hang are still attached, while its fine green and yellow silk fringe is a pleasing specimen of such a kind of decoration. 540. Purse in crimson velvet, embroidered with comic masks, and mounted in chased steel damascened in gold. Attached is a crimson Band with a Buckle of cut and gilt steel. Milanese, 16th century. 11½ inches by 11 inches. The rich crimson velvet is Genoese; the frame, an art-work of the Milan school, is figured with two monsters’ heads, and two medallions, one containing a naked youth seated, the other a nude female figure standing. On the front of the bag are applied two embroideries in gold and coloured silk, one an owl’s head, the other that of a full-faced grotesque satyr; on the back is another satyr’s side-face. At one time, such bags or ornamental purses, under the name of “gibecières” in France and England, but known in Italy as “borsa,” were articles of dress worn by most people; and “the varlet with the velvet pouch” will not be forgotten by those who have read Walter Scott’s novel of “Quentin Durward.” The expressions, in English of “cut-purse,” in Italian “taglia borse,” for a pickpocket, are well illustrated by this gay personal appendage. 623. Piece of Edging; ground, purple thread-net; pattern, bunches of flowers, of two sorts alternated, in various coloured flos-silks. Italian, 18th century. 5 feet 5 inches by 5 inches.