The gold thread was so poor that the precious metal has almost entirely disappeared; but when all was new, this stuff must have looked particularly grand. The large red rose, and the pomegranate, make it seem as if it had been wrought, in the first instance, for either our Henry the Seventh, or Henry the Eighth, after the English marriage of Catherine of Arragon. 7076. Raised Velvet and Gold; pattern, conventional flowers in gold, upon tawny-coloured velvet. Genoese, late 15th century. 12 inches by 8 inches. The gold of the design is, in parts, nicely diapered; and the gold thread itself thin, and now rather tarnished. 7077. Raised Crimson Velvet; pattern, an artichoke amid flowers. Genoese, late 15th century. 16½ inches by 11½ inches. The pile is rich; and when it is borne in mind how the Emperor Charles V. honoured Andrea Dorea, it is not surprising that his countrymen had a partiality for the Spanish emblem of their great captain’s admirer. 7078. Raised Blue Velvet; ground, deep blue; pattern, within an outlined seven-petaled floriation in silk, an artichoke, with sprigs of flowers shooting out of it. Genoese, late 15th century. 17½ inches by 10¼ inches. Though much worn by hard usage, this stuff is of a pleasing effect, owing to its agreeable design, which not unfrequently occurs perfect, and consists of a kind of circle in narrow lines, somewhat in the shape of a flower, but having at the tips of its prominent feathering cusps of florets. 7079. Figured Blue Velvet; embroidered in gold thread, with cinquefoils, enclosing a floriation of the artichoke form, with smaller ones around it. Spanish, 15th century. 15 inches by 9½ inches. By the shape of this piece it must have been cut off from the end of a chasuble. Though the velvet is rich, the embroidery is poor, done as it is in thin outline, but still of a good form. 7080. Orphrey Web, silk and gold; ground, crimson; pattern, on a gold diapering, conventional floriations and scrolls, in one of which is the bust of St. Peter, with his key in one hand and a book in the other. Florentine, late 15th century. 21 inches by 8 inches. Like many other samples, this rich web of crimson silk and fine gold thread was wrought for those kinds of broad orphreys needed for chasubles and copes; and sometimes worked up into altar-frontals. 7081. Silk Damask; ground, yellow; pattern, net-work, the meshes, which are looped to each other, filled in with a conventional floriated ornament, all in green. Italian, 16th century. 16½ inches by 10¾ inches. Intended for household adornment. This stuff must have had an agreeable effect, though the green has somewhat faded. 7082. Silk Damask; ground, yellowish pale green; pattern, a diapering of very small leaves and flowers. Oriental, 13th century. 6½ inches by 5¾ inches. Just like No. 7056, and needing the same near inspection to find out its small but well-managed delicate design. 7083.