Rare Italian Circa 1550 Candelabra Pattern Silk Velvet Hanging

Featured here is a circa 1550 Italian symmetrical "candelabra" pattern of a alto-e-basso or pile-on-pile of silk cut velvet. The ground is a cream silk while the pattern is gold with a black silk outline. Mounted for hanging and the edges of the frame have been wrapped. 

Around the middle of the 16th century textile designers began to make use of classical architectural ornament. Textiles began to resemble the stone or stucco ornamentation of buildings, lacey ironwork and delicate plants interlaced with flowers giving rise to the "candelabra" pattern ending around the end of the 16th century. Called "candelabra" pattern due to the many branches in the design. The symmetrical vertical theme was well suited for the coverings of columns and walls and is well documented in paintings of the period.  

Pile-on-Pile: Pile refers to the threads which project from a ground fabric, pile-on-pile refers to two layers of threads, one higher than the other. Alto-e-basso is Italian for high and low.  

Condition: Some velvet pile is missing throughout from the ground but all silk threads remain, this is consistent with a piece of this age. Made up of two pieces joined together