The Butler-Bowden Cope is a cope in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. It derives its name from the family who owned it for several centuries. It dates from 1330 to 1350 and shows scenes from the Life of the Virgin with Apostles and

saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

s, embroidered with silver, silver-gilt thread and silk, on a rich crimson velvet. This was the ideal base for the high quality

English embroidery English embroidery includes embroidery worked in England or by English people abroad from Anglo-Saxon times to the present day. The oldest surviving English embroideries include items from the early 10th century preserved in Durham Cathedral and ...

(called ''

Opus Anglicanum Opus Anglicanum or English work is fine needlework of Medieval England done for ecclesiastical or secular use on clothing, hangings or other textiles, often using gold and silver threads on rich velvet or linen grounds. Such English embroidery wa ...

'', the Latin for "English work") which was much coveted by the most powerful people in Europe including kings and popes, and was used as a forceful visual statement of their wealth and status. Many medieval church vestments were later cut up and re-used. This cope, as can be seen from its dismembered state, was made into a variety of ecclesiastical garments, but was re-assembled in the 19th century.

References

Butler-Bowden Cope at the V&ABritannica.com Beadwork
Collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum Roman Catholic vestments English embroidery Individual garments {{Textile-arts-stub