red velvet, linen, leather

Such small robes, known as Marienkleider in German because of their frequent use to decorate statues of the Virgin Mary, were used to decorate figures of the saints during the liturgical season. The convent of Wienhausen preserves thirteen such robes, made from a variety of colors of silk and velvet, and decorated with embroidery, pearls, and precious metals. These robes date from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The different styles of the robes indicate that they belonged to different statues. The most frequent figures to receive such decoration were statues of Christ, the Virgin Mary, Saint Margaret, and Saint Mary Magdalene.

The nuns of Wienhausen probably created this robe to decorate one of the figures of the saints held by the community. Embroidery down the front of the robe appears to depict a dragon (or a phoenix?), which may suggest a connection to the symbolism of either Saint Margaret or Christ.