From Bed Curtains to Bishops’ Copes? Exploring the Possible Use of Second-Hand Bed Curtains in Crafting Thirteen Bishops’ Copes for the Coronation of King Adolf Fredrik of Sweden in 1751

Abstract

The reuse of textiles was a very common practice in the past and as a result, historic textiles often have long, complex, and eventful biographies which can be difficult to interpret. This paper gives insight into this possibility for a set of 13 bishops’ copes that were made for the coronation procession of the Swedish King Adolf Fredrik in 1751. The 13 copes worn for this occasion by each of the bishops of Sweden were made and bought in Paris. This paper seeks to discover if there is any truth to an intriguing story which says that the beautiful floral silk brocade bought to make the copes was in fact not new when it was purchased but was instead second-hand bed curtains bought in a Parisian tailor shop. This question was explored using a combination of qualitative data methods such as: observations of three of the copes, literature, archival research, and interviews. In Paris, it was not just one type of brocade that was bought to make the copes. There were in fact three types, each of differing quality and value. As a result, when the 13 copes were made they were divided into three categories: each made with a different quality of fabric, which were designated as “Good” “Better” and “Best” for this study. Five copes were made in the “Good” category, produced with the cheapest brocade; Four copes in the “Better” category, which were made of a more expensive brocade; And four copes in the “Best” category, which were made from the most expensive brocade. All the gathered data suggested that the five copes of the “Good” category could have been made with second- hand textiles, though their previous function, as bed-curtains or otherwise was not possible to determine. This study seeks to add new interest and value to these already historically significant copes as well as promote awareness regarding textile reuse in historical church textiles among the public and church officials.