1343.
Cradle-quilt, linen, embroidered in coloured silks with flowers and names. German, late 15th century. 3 feet 4¼ inches by 1 foot 8¼ inches.
At each of its four corners, as well as in the middle, is wrought a large bunch of our “meadow pink;” between the flowers are worked these names,—“Jhesus, Maria, Johanes, Jaspar, Baltasar, Maria, Melchior, Johanes.” From the names assigned to the three wise men, whose relics are enshrined in the cathedral at Cologne, being so conspicuously wrought upon this piece, we may presume that the needlework was done in that great German city. By wear, the greens of the leaves have turned brown, and the pink of the flowers become pale. Those pieces of printed linen with which the holes in two places are mended will not be without an interest for those who are curious in tracing out the origin of such manufactures. Other examples of these cradle-quilts are in this collection.