Palermo, royal workshop Mantle of Roger II (copy) c. 1133-1134

    This robe of state in hand-printed silk is a copy of the mantle made in the royal workshop at Palermo in c. 1133-1134 for the coronation of Roger II, the first Norman king of Sicily (1130-1154). The original mantle, in red silk, was embroidered with gold thread, enamel and pearls. On either side of a stylized palm-tree are two lions triumphant, holding a camel in a position of submission. The figure of the lion bringing down a beast is often associated with depictions of Faith victorious. The iconographic treatment here is clearly orientalizing. Along the hem, embroidered in Kufic script, there is an inscription in praise of King Roger II.

Dimensions of the object
345 x 146 cm

Bibliography
- I Normanni, popolo d'Europa, Roma, Venezia, 1994, Mario D'Onofrio (dir;), n° 96
- Italie des Normands, Normandie des Plantagenêts, Musée de Normandie, Caen, 1995, n° 6

Location
Original preserved in Vienna, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Schatzkammer (former imperial palace)

Photography : 
Full size copy (345 x 146 cm.) of the royal mantle of Roger II.
Production : Ratti s.p.a., Como, 1993