An exciting summer project with our partner in ministry, Sacristies of New York, as we rehabilitate the 20th century silk/metallic gold and silver embroidery of two peacocks flanking a Chi Rho on top of a wheel. The piece was previously mounted on a plain red frontal and used in the undercroft Resurrection Chapel. Some of the threading has come loose, and it is in need of repair and conservation.
The piece has travelled to the Community of St John Baptist in Mendham, NJ where its conservation will serve as part of the internship project for Anna Stein, who is working with Sacristies of NY founder Marianna Gartwaite Klaiman for the summer. Anna is a student of History and Fashion studying at Centenary University. She has interned in the collections of Denali National Park and the Morris County Historical Society, working on document scanning, transcription, garment and spear mounting, and organization.
The embroidery will be remounted by Steve Leavitt of Transfiguration Vestments on Ivory “Bramfield” Silk Damask from M. Perkins & Sons in the UK, to match the new set of vestments donated in memory of long-time cathedral member Dr. Phyllis Bain.