105 - Art Deco embroidered chape, likely from the circle of the Poor Clares of Mazamet

Art Deco embroidered chape, likely from the circle of the Poor Clares of Mazamet and Sabine Desvallières, France, circa 1910–1930 Ivory twill background, appliqué orfrois in old-rose ottoman fabric accented with a green braid with gold detailing and embroidered with motifs characteristic of the religious revival: pine cones (immortality), tulips and crocuses (spring renewal, Easter), and peacock feathers (spiritual renewal). The hood is adorned with the Chi-Rho symbol, applied in red and green velvet, and a silk passementerie tassel. Turquoise lining, metal clasp. Technique: flat satin stitch embroidery in polychrome floche silk outlined with layered gold thread. Condition: signs of wear, a few stains, and missing threads. The naive and stylized design, the color palette (pink, aqua, rust, turquoise), and the use of floche silk are characteristic of the revival of sacred art in the first third of the 20th century, at the intersection of the Arts and Crafts movement and late Art Nouveau. The Poor Clare nuns of Mazamet (Tarn) began embroidering for the Church around 1905. With the arrival at the convent of artists such as the sisters Rosine and Thérèse Passard, followed by Sabine Desvallières (1891–1935), daughter of the painter George Desvallières (who founded the Ateliers d’art sacré in 1919 with Maurice Denis); the works of the “poor ladies” of Mazamet—intended for small rural parishes in their area as well as for missions in Africa and even the Vatican—shifted from copying the great masters (1905–1925) to original creations marked by the style of their time, Art Deco.