Swastika, Altar cloth, Cistercian convent of Zehdenick
St. Nicholas Church Museum, BerlinSwastika, Detail of altar cloth from the Cistercian convent of Zehdenick
Figural embroidery and filet lace, around 1300
Permanent loan from the Evangelisches Stift Kloster Zehdenick
The Zehdenick altar cloth displayed here is a unique witness to the medieval textile art of Brandenburg. It was created around 1300 by nuns from Zehdenick Abbey for the altar of the abbey church. It continued in use there even after the Reformation. It first entered the collection of the Märkisches Museum, now part of the Stadtmuseum Berlin, in the 1930s.
The cloth masterfully combines two techniques of medieval monastic textile art: whitework embroidery on linen and filet embroidery on knotted net. The iconographic programme consists of 76 circular scenes in whitework embroidery on star-shaped pieces of linen presenting the entire biblical salvation story. These alternate with medallions containing ornamental motifs worked in filet embroidery on netting, connected by smaller decorative medallions of filet lace.
The extraordinary artistry and craftsmanship of these embroideries only comes to light under close scrutiny. On the screen you can examine each embroidery individually, and can access information about the content of the images. Here you can also learn more about the history and creation of the altar cloth. After examining the piece on the screen, you can then explore the original.
This is located in St. Nicholas' Church Museum, Berlin
Supplementary images:
Swastika on the altar cloth from the Cistercian convent of Zehdenick, located in St. Nicholas Church.
Taken on Wednesday 07th of August 2019
Device: Google
Model: Pixel 3 XL
Genre:
Around 1300
Source: Berlin, Germany
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