Antique Vietnamese Catholic Lamb of God Design Authentic Ecclesiastical Cloth Altar Textile

This vintage Vietnamese Catholic altar cloth features a central sunburst with the Lamb of God in the middle holding a cross with a church processional banner trailing. This is all in the center of a beautiful variety of intricately woven silk thread floral design embroidery. This is an exceptionally beautiful early 20th century cloth and is among the oldest we have. Regrettably its condition reflects its age and use; it is very worn and stained. It bears the words Ecco Agnus Dei which means Behold the Lamb of God. Most people associate Catholicism in Viet Nam with the French colonial period, which is very much the case. However, Jesuits from all over Europe brought Catholicism to Asia 500 years before that. The Catholic tradition in Viet Nam and all the other Catholic populations of Asia is well established. The Catholic population of Vietnam is only about 8% of the total but that is about 7 million people. During certain periods of their history Catholics have been some of the