How churches were adorned and their priests were clothed played important roles in Catholic evangelization in the New World. In this book Maya Stanfield-Mazzi examines the cloth that adorned churches and the vestments worn by the clergy. While this might seem a narrow topic of interest to specialists in textile history, it provides a window into many aspects of Spanish American colonial cultural and social history.
To exalt God and attract adherents, churches and patrons sought high-quality materials and skills to manufacture liturgical textiles. To reflect this, the book is structured by the hierarchy of fibers and products used, with the first chapter on silk, the most esteemed textile, followed by chapters on embroidery, featherwork, tapestry, painted cotton, and cotton lace. Each chapter treats a particular fiber or product and examines its origins, how artisans were trained, and how production was organized. Stanfield-Mazzi also analyzes the designs, techniques, and imagery...
