A purple velvet chasuble with dark green silk and metal-thread cross orphrey, Flemish or Spanish, 16th century orphrey, and later

There were four formal liturgical colours introduced in 1200 and they were White, Black, Red and Green. There are examples of vestments of all these colours in this sale. The first three colours had allocated events on which they should be worn. Between Lent and Advent, and festivals there was a significant period without an allocated formal colour. Pope Innocent III chose green and it symbolised hope and the expectation of Christ's resurrection. It represented the optimism and life that each day brings. These colours remained unchanged until the Council of Trent in the 16th century, when Pope Pius V introduced the colour violet for use liturgical use at Lent and Advent, and this introduction remains practice today.

Vestment colours were instantly recognised by the congregation with the message of the service, at a time when many were illiterate. It was association that was remembered. Purple had always been a high status colour associated with royalty and rulers and it was partly due to the complexities and molluscs (murex bandaris) used for dyeing. When the molluscs became harder to get hold of red took over but needed a mordant, which fortunately for Rome, Italy had a source of in the form Alum. It was Pope Pius V that re introduced purple as a status colour with positive association and as an important liturgical colour.