TWO WINGS OF A RELIQUARY ALTAR
South Germany, Franconia 1519
Munich, Bayerisches Nationalmuseum (42/23, 42/24) 46.5 x 18.5 cm.

Saints Sebastian and Ursula. In high relief. Faces in white satin with details in fine stem stitch. Hair and beard of spiral wire wound round with silk. The garments in couched work of gold threads, sequins and pearls. The figures are applied to a satin ground, embroidered with gold thread and silk, in laid work and couched work. Strips of parchment with inscriptions refer to the attached relics. The central panel with the Crucifixion (private collection) is dated 1519. It shows the arms, attached in 1680, of Johann Eustachius von Westernach, Bishop of Augsburg 1681-1707.

Source: Schuette, Marie and Sigrid Muller-Christensen: Pictorial History of Embroidery ; NY: Frederick Praeger, 1964