Our Blue Velvet design is inspired by a piece of a 15th-century velvet dalmatic. It is patterned with a seven-lobed shield that contains an artichoke-like botanical shape adorned with tiny floral patterns on each side. The patterning was created using brocaded gilt metal thread, an expensive and painstaking procedure, making velvets such as this some of the most highly prized luxury fabrics of the Renaissance.