Spectacular Antique Convent Work Religious Beaded Antependium

This is a stunning and incredible hand worked banner, with the use of hundreds of hand sewn glass beads. It originates from the Brittany region of France and dates towards 1900. It would have ornamented a small altar within a countryside parish. As the countryside parishes did not have the extra money for fine adornments, they profited by the very fine work from nearby convents or monasteries. These handworked, one of a kind textiles were created and stitched with love and devotion. It is hard to imagine the hours spent, especially with the intensive beadwork, to create this sumptuous piece. The red stitching is placed on a rectangle of fine linen. The thread is of a thick wool cotton in the most luscious shade of crimson. The design of the beadwork would have been by the maker's hand. The glass beads appear as ice crystals when capturing the light, each one sewn individually. There is a running border around the edge using stylized and alternating Greek keys and Maltese crosses.