Cloth of Honour: Tracing a Term in the Vocabulary of Art and Textile History

This article discusses the meaning and historiography of the phrase “cloth of honour”, which is frequently used in both art and textile history to indicate a drapery suspended as a status marker behind a person of importance. It argues that this phrase was repurposed from Renaissance sources for specific application in the description of paintings. It demonstrates who was responsible for this repurposing and how and when the phrase became more widely employed. It also examines the phrase’s original meaning and possible period alternatives. Thus, it contributes to our understanding of the emergence of a practical critical vocabulary in the discipline of art history and clarifies the background of a specific term within it.