The tomb was opened in 1968. Several textile fragments were found, including a small piece of an embroidered cushion placed under the Archbishop's head. What remained of the cushion was the gold and silver embroidery; the ground material, perhaps linen, had disintegrated.
The embroidery was worked in silk with long-armed cross stitch and consists of a chequered design, on both sides of the cushion, of square compartments filled with different motifs. Such a decoration is also shown on the tombs of Henry III (r. 1216-1272) and Queen Eleanor in Westminster Abbey.
Source: INGRAM, Elizabeth (1987). Thread of Gold. The Embroideries and Textiles in York Minster. Andover: Pitkin Pictorials.
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Tomb of Walter de Gray in the south transept of York Minster.