Textile Fabrics / A Descriptive Catalogue of the Collection of Church-vestments, Dresses, Silk Stuffs, Needlework and Tapestries, forming that Section of the Museum

by Daniel Rock

Section IV.

While telling of a coronation, a royal marriage, the queen’s ‘taking her chamber,’ her after-churching, a baptism, a progress, or a funeral, the historian or the painter cannot bring before his own mind, much less set forth to ours, a fit idea of the circumstances in the splendour shown on any one of these imperial occasions, unless he can see old samples of those cloths of gold, figured velvets, curious embroidery, and silken stuffs, such as are gathered in this collection, and used to be worn of old for those functions.

Of the many valuable, though indirect uses to which this curious collection of textiles may, on occasions, be turned, a few there are to which we call particular attention, for the ready help it is likely to afford. In the first place, to