A visible sign of invisible grace. The so-called Żywiec ensemble in the treasury of the Wawel Cathedral in light of source and iconographic studies

Abstract

An exceptional place among liturgical vestments in the Treasury of the Wawel Cathedral occupies an ensemble consisting of a chasuble and two dalmatics, referred to as the ‘Żywiec ensemble' (Treasury of the Wawel Cathedral, chasuble — inv. no. KKK tk/334, a dalmatic depicting the Holy Communion — KKK tk/334A, a dalmatic depicting the Confession — KKK 334B). The vestments were sewn from Italian brocade around 1525 in Flan- ders and ornately decorated with figurative embroidery according to a de­sign attributed to Lucas van Leyden (d. 1533). Since 1598 archival sources explicitly link the Żywiec ensemble to the parish church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Żywiec (currently the co-cathedral of the Bielsko-Biała/Żywiec diocese), which precludes the possibility of a later transfer or any purchase of the ensemble.

The exceptional character of the vestments from Żywiec is emphasized by implementation of an ideological programme referring to the administra- tion of the holy sacraments. Only a few examples of European liturgical vestments decorated with images of the seven sacraments are extant — e.g. in St. Vincent Collegiate Church in Soignies (Zinnik) from late 15th centu- ry, on the band of a no longer extant cope of 1470 founded by count Giacomo de Savoia-Romont (Bern, Bernisches Historisches Museum, inv. 308), on embroideries of a Flanders cope from the end of the 15th century (Detroit, Institute of Arts), although we may encounter instances of such images in other fine arts, in particular in 15th century Dutch art: wall paintings, stained-glass paintings, book illustrations, sculptures (esp. font decora- tions) or many surviving sculpted or painted altarpieces and tapestries. The ensemble features a sacramental cycle split between three items, i.e. the chasuble and the two dalmatics. Due to the split, its entirety was vis- ible only when used during the liturgy by three clerics: a priest and two deacons. In terms of iconography, the images depicting the administration of sacraments derive from a wealth of iconographic tradition determining the manner in which the subsequent sacrament is shown, based on a pre- viously developed iconographic type, which was then expanded by the in- clusion of additional characters or by introducing unique details taken from everyday observation of liturgical and religious life. The departure point for constructing individual compositions is an easily recognisable ‘visible sign' constituting the next scene, behind which hides the content referring to ‘invisible grace' specific to each sacrament. The fact that such set of em- broidered images, rich in ideological content, was created must be linked to a vivid 15th century trend referred to as devotio moderna and apologetic content in the context of Martin Luther's reformation movement after 1517, which renounced the Churche's teachings of the seven sacraments.