Badge of the Order of the Dragon
Southern Germany, ca 1430
Embroidery in gold and silk thread on linen
27,0 x 39,0 cm
Inv.-Nr. T 3792
Acquired in 1860 with the Martin von Reider Collection, Bamberg
Gallery 6
In 1408 King Siegmund of Hungary, later Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, founded the worshipful 'Order of the Dragon'. The society, just like other chivalric orders founded in the Middle Ages, served a dual purpose: combatting heresy and infidelity as well as forging political links between its princely members and their sovereign lord, founder of the Order. A dragon defeated by the sign of the cross was bestowed on the Order as their emblem; it represented the Devil, Hell’s ruler, overcome by the Saviour's death and resurrection. The badge is worked as a raised embroidery. A dense layer of surface-couched gold threads forms the figure of the beast; coloured silks fasten the gold threads to the linen ground. The padding underlying the metal threads and the shading achieved by the couching stitches contribute to the three-dimensional effect of the embroidery. The particularly large badge was probably worn on a cloak or a herald's coat.
des Bayerischen Nationalmuseum
des Bayerischen Nationalmuseum
