Detail from the embroidery, made with silver-gilt and silver thread and coloured silks. Under arches with twisting organic supports, the Virgin Mary is seated next to her son Jesus. She wears a green robe with hints of blue (guessing this may have changed over time, from blue?), & a white headscarf or veil. Jesus is shown as a healthy mature man, with a beard. He wears an orange robe with a blue lining, and like his mother’s the robe has a decorated edging. Jesus wears a strawberry-leaf crown, and has reached out with his riight hand to place a similar crown on his mother’s head. She appears surprised, and touched; she is raising her hands to him in prayer. The Pienza Cope, made in England c.1330s, is in the Museo Diocesano, Pienza.

The Coronation of the Virgin as Queen of Heaven is celebrated on 22 Aug, a week after the Assumption.

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