"18th Century Antependium"
Very beautiful and rare in front of an altar or antependium (from the Latin “which hangs before”) in silk, finely and richly embroidered with gold and silver threads. In liturgical, Catholic, and Orthodox traditions, richly decorated fabrics and a taste for adornments that shimmered with light were an important part of ecclesiastical splendor. This embroidery work, with a sumptuous and impressive effect, requiring a lot of talent and patience, was carried out by women.