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Panniers | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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A woman's sack, petticoat and stomacher of cream silk with a figured and striped ground, brocaded with small floral sprigs in shades of green, blue, and pink. The sack is open at the front with elbow-length sleeves with double, scalloped sleeve ruffles. The bodice and sleeves are lined with bleached linen. The back has two, double box pleats stitched at the neckline; the skirts are pleated into the waist seam at the front of the sack. It is made of 6 widths of silk. The robings are trimmed with narrow ruching edged with a fringe of white silk gimp and coloured floss silk knots. A wide pleated strip of silk, edged with the same fringe, is arranged in a serpentine line on the skirt fronts. The sleeve ruffles are also edged with fringe.

The petticoat is made of five widths of silk, pleated at the waist and bound with linen tape ties. The sides of the petticoat are pleated to accommodate a square hoop. The front is decorated with a deep flounce of silk, edged and caught up with fringe, below which is a wide strip of pleated silk edged with fringe.

The stomacher is unlined and decorated with gathered and fringe-trimmed ruching and a bow of the same.

The sack was altered in the late 19th century for fancy dress. A ruffle of cotton gauze was machine-sewn to the neck and the robings unpicked

Categories

Parts

This object consists of 3 parts.

Materials and techniques

Silk, linen, silk thread, linen thread; hand-woven brocade, hand-sewn

Brief description

A woman's sack, petticoat and stomacher, 1765-70, British; Cream figured ground brocaded floral sprigs, Spitalfields, 1765-70, silk fringe; altered 1870-1910

Physical description

A woman's sack, petticoat and stomacher of cream silk with a figured and striped ground, brocaded with small floral sprigs in shades of green, blue, and pink. The sack is open at the front with elbow-length sleeves with double, scalloped sleeve ruffles. The bodice and sleeves are lined with bleached linen. The back has two, double box pleats stitched at the neckline; the skirts are pleated into the waist seam at the front of the sack. It is made of 6 widths of silk. The robings are trimmed with narrow ruching edged with a fringe of white silk gimp and coloured floss silk knots. A wide pleated strip of silk, edged with the same fringe, is arranged in a serpentine line on the skirt fronts. The sleeve ruffles are also edged with fringe.

The petticoat is made of five widths of silk, pleated at the waist and bound with linen tape ties. The sides of the petticoat are pleated to accommodate a square hoop. The front is decorated with a deep flounce of silk, edged and caught up with fringe, below which is a wide strip of pleated silk edged with fringe.

The stomacher is unlined and decorated with gathered and fringe-trimmed ruching and a bow of the same.

The sack was altered in the late 19th century for fancy dress. A ruffle of cotton gauze was machine-sewn to the neck and the robings unpicked

Dimensions

Silk, selvedge to selvedge width: 49.2cm
Taken from acquisition register

Production type

Unique

Credit line

Bibliographic reference

Hart, Avril and Susan North, Historical Fashion in Detail: The 17th and 18th Centuries, London: V&A Publications, 1998, p. 136

Accession number

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You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
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Sack | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

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A woman's sack, petticoat and stomacher, 1765-70, British; Cream figured ground brocaded floral sprigs, Spitalfields, 1765-70, silk fringe; altered 1870-1910

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Pair of Woman's Shoes, Unknown, England, circa 1760, Costumes, Brocaded silk, leather, and linen.

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Christening Robe | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections | 1730-1770

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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Christening Robe | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

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Christening robe of ivory silk satin, 1730-60, British; embroidered with silk twist

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Doll, fashion doll or Pandora, 1750-1770

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Doll, fashion doll or Pandora, 1750-1770

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Petticoat | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections | 1750-1775

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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Not currently on display at the V&A

Although it is hand-drawn, the simple treatment of the design on this skirt almost gives the appearance of a block-print. Unusually for a chintz fabric, the black has been drawn directly onto the cloth. There is an East India Company stamp on top of the painted design on one side of the petticoat. Black designs like this were probably intended as mourning wear. Another very similar petticoat in the V&A was part of the Baker gift (IS.107-1950).

Categories

Object type

Materials and techniques

Cotton, painted and dyed; linen, printed

Brief description

printed cotton, 1700s, South-east India

Physical description

Cotton petticoat with black surface decoration. Lined with linen, with a strip of printed floral linen, probably from Alsace, around the hem.

Dimensions

Height: 111cm

Hem circumference: 348cm

Production

Made on the Coromandel Coast for export to Europe. The lining of the hem is from Alsace, ca.1780.

Summary

Although it is hand-drawn, the simple treatment of the design on this skirt almost gives the appearance of a block-print. Unusually for a chintz fabric, the black has been drawn directly onto the cloth. There is an East India Company stamp on top of the painted design on one side of the petticoat. Black designs like this were probably intended as mourning wear. Another very similar petticoat in the V&A was part of the Baker gift (IS.107-1950).

Bibliographic reference

Crill, Rosemary, Chintz: Indian Textiles for the West, London, 2008. Plate 56. p. 104

Collection

Accession number

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest Feedback

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Petticoat | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

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Woman's Dress and Petticoat (Robe à la française)

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Woman's Dress and Petticoat (Robe à la française), Unknown, England, circa 1765, Costumes, Silk plain weave (faille) with silk and metallic-thread supplementary-weft patterning, and metallic lace.

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https://collections.lacma.org/node/202415

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Woman's Hat (Bergère), Unknown, France, circa 1760, Costumes, Straw, cotton plain weave, and silk plain weave ribbon with supplementary weft-float patterning trim.

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Please log in to add this item to your gallery.

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circa 1765

Silk plain weave (taffeta)

a) Robe center back length: 61 in. (154.94 cm); b) Petticoat center back length: 39 1/2 in. (100.33 cm)

Purchased with funds provided by Suzanne A. Saperstein and Michael and Ellen Michelson, with additional funding from the Costume Council, the Edgerton Foundation, Gail and Gerald Oppenheimer, Maureen H. Shapiro, Grace Tsao, and Lenore and Richard Wayne (M.2007.211.925a-b)

Not currently on public view

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Woman's Dress and Petticoat (Robe à la française)

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Woman's Dress and Petticoat (Robe à la française), Unknown, circa 1765, Costumes, Silk plain weave (taffeta).

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Woman's Hoop Petticoat (Panier), Unknown, England, 1750-1780, Costumes, Linen plain weave and cane.

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Woman’s Dress (Robe à la française) | LACMA Collections

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Woman's Dress (Robe à la française), Unknown, France, 1760s-1770s, Costumes, Silk plain weave (taffeta) with silk supplementary-weft patterning and silk passementerie trim.

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Roger Portalis. Honoré Fragonard, sa vie et son oeuvre. Paris, 1889, vol. 2, p. 272, as "Le Billet doux", 79 x 69 cm, in the Feuillet de Conches collection, and shown in the Alsaciens-Lorrains exhibition in 1874.

A. Alexandre. "La collection E. Cronier." Les arts no. 47 (November 1905), pp. 6-7, ill.

André Gide. Journal entry. December 2, 1905 [in Gide, André, "Journal: avec un index des noms et des oeuvres cités," Paris, Gallimard, 1948-54, vol. 1, p. 188], finds it delightful but considers Fragonard's reputation exaggerated.

W. Roberts. "The Cronier Sale." Athenæum no. 4076 (December 9, 1905), p. 807, states that Mme Jagerschmidt inherited the picture from her father, baron Feuillet de Conches, and sold it to Cronier for 110,000 francs.

Henry Pannier in Pierre de Nolhac. "Catalogue des oeuvres peintes de Jean-Honoré Fragonard qui ont passé en vente publique depuis 1770 jusqu'en 1905." J.-H. Fragonard, 1732-1806. Paris, 1906, p. 146, ill. opp. p. 148, as purchased at the 1905 Cronier sale for Fr 420,000 by Kraemer and Wildenstein.

L. de Fourcaud. "Honoré Fragonard, VII: Chronologie de l'oeuvre de Frago." Revue de l'art ancien et moderne 21 (January-June 1907), p. 294.

Robert de La Sizeranne. "Le double miroir du XVIIIe siècle: Chardin et Fragonard." Revue des deux mondes, 5th per., 40 (1907), p. 185.

Armand Dayot and Léandre Vaillat. L'oeuvre de J.-B.-S. Chardin et de J.-H. Fragonard. Paris, [1908], p. XII, no. 87 bis, ill. after pl. 88, as engraved by Jacquet in 1907 and sold in 1905 for Fr 625,000.

Georges Grappe. H. Fragonard: Peintre de l'amour au XVIIIe siècle. Paris, 1913, vol. 1, ill. opp. p. 44.

"French, English, and American Paintings." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 15 (September 1920), p. 203, ill.

"The Museum's Fiftieth Anniversary: A Memorable Exhibition of Old Masterpieces." New York Tribune (May 9, 1920), p. 5, ill., calls it "one of [Fragonard's] most consummate studies of feminine coquetry".

Louis Réau. L'art français aux États-Unis. Paris, 1926, p. 142.

Edouard Brandus. "La collection des tableaux anciens de M. Jules S. Bache, à New-York." La Renaissance 11 (May 1928), pp. 186, 188, 195, ill.

Walter Heil. "The Jules Bache Collection." Art News 27 (April 27, 1929), pp. 4, 11, ill. (color).

A Catalogue of Paintings in the Collection of Jules S. Bache. New York, 1929, unpaginated, ill.

Esther Singleton. Old World Masters in New World Collections. New York, 1929, pp. 318-20, ill., notes that the sitter is said to be the daughter of Boucher, who married the painter Baudouin and later M. de Cuviller.

Georges Grappe. La vie e l'oeuvre de J.-H. Fragonard. Paris, 1929, p. 19, pl. XXXI.

"London-New-York-Paris." Pantheon 3 (January-June 1929), pp. 244, 246, ill.

Georges Wildenstein in Unknown Masterpieces in Public and Private Collections. Ed. Wilhelm R. Valentiner. Vol. 1, London, 1930, unpaginated, no. 82, ill., as Boucher's youngest daughter, Marie Emilie; reads the inscription as "A Monsieur, Monsieur Cuvilier" and notes that she married the architect Charles Étienne Gabriel Cuvilier in 1773.

Georges Wildenstein. "Paintings from America in the French Exhibition." The Fine Arts 18 (January 1932), pp. 23, 54, ill.

Georges Wildenstein. "L'exposition de l'art français à Londres: Le XVIIIe siècle." Gazette des beaux-arts, 6th ser., 7 (1932), ill. p. 69.

Trenchard Cox. "A Last View of the French Exhibition." Connoisseur 89 (March 1932), ill. p. 151.

Royal Academy of Arts. Commemorative Catalogue of the Exhibition of French Art, 1200-1900. London, 1933, p. 47, no. 173, pl. 71.

Hans Tietze. Meisterwerke europäischer Malerei in Amerika. Vienna, 1935, p. 343, pl. 261 [English ed., "Masterpieces of European Painting in America," New York, 1939, p. 327, pl. 261].

A Catalogue of Paintings in the Bache Collection. under revision. New York, 1937, unpaginated, no. 50, ill.

Charles Sterling in Chefs d'œuvre de l'art français. Exh. cat., Palais National des Arts. Paris, 1937, p. 83, no. 160.

"La collection Jules Bache a New-York." Mouseion 39-40 (1937), pp. 220-21, ill.

Regina Shoolman and Charles E. Slatkin. The Enjoyment of Art in America. Philadelphia, 1942, pl. 494.

"Fragonard: 'Le Billet Doux'." Art News 40 (January 15-31, 1942), ill. p. 20 (color).

Harry B. Wehle. "The Bache Collection on Loan." Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 1 (June 1943), p. 286, ill. in color on cover.

Walter Heil. "The Bache Paintings at the Metropolitan." Art News 42 (June-July 1943), pp. 23, 25-26, ill.

A Catalogue of Paintings in the Bache Collection. rev. ed. New York, 1943, unpaginated, no. 49, ill., reads the inscription as "Monsieur de Cuviller".

Louis Guimbaud. Fragonard. Paris, 1947, p. 53.

Fiske Kimball and Lionello Venturi. Great Paintings in America. New York, 1948, pp. 140-41, no. 63, ill. (color).

Art Treasures of the Metropolitan: A Selection from the European and Asiatic Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1952, p. 231, no. 129, ill. (color).

Josephine L. Allen and Elizabeth E. Gardner. A Concise Catalogue of the European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1954, p. 37.

Charles Sterling. The Metropolitan Museum of Art: A Catalogue of French Paintings. Vol. 1, XV-XVIII Centuries. Cambridge, Mass., 1955, pp. 157-59, ill., reads the inscription "A Monsieur mon Cavalier (or Cavallier)" and rejects the identification of the sitter as Boucher's daughter; calls the painting "a romantic subject" from the 1770s.

Louis Réau. Fragonard, sa vie et son oeuvre. Brussels, 1956, p. 160, pl. 107, as a genre scene.

Georges Wildenstein. The Paintings of Fragonard, Complete Edition. London, 1960, p. 284, no. 388, colorpl. facing p. 24, as Marie Emilie Cuvillier.

René Gimpel. Diary of an Art Dealer. English ed. New York, 1966, pp. 6, 87, 99, ill. opp. p. 18, claims the picture was purchased at the Cronier sale by his father and Nathan Wildenstein for Fr 500,000, and sold two years later to Bardac; that they bought it back in 1919, but that Bardac retained a 1/3 interest; states that he sold it to Bache.

Adrian Daintrey. Adrian Daintrey on Fragonard's 'Le Billet Doux'. Ed. Carel Weight. London, 1969, pp. 25-31, ill. (color).

Introduction by Kenneth Clark. Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1970, p. 276, no. 308, ill.

Calvin Tomkins. Merchants and Masterpieces: The Story of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1970, p. 316 [rev., enl. ed., 1989].

Gabriele Mandel in L'opera completa di Fragonard. Milan, 1972, p. 104, no. 413, ill.

David Wakefield. Fragonard. London, 1976, pp. 54-55, ill. (color).

Howard Hibbard. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1980, pp. 364-65, fig. 663.

Jeffery Daniels. "Gainsborough the European." Connoisseur 206 (February 1981), p. 112, ill. (color).

Pierre Cabanne. Fragonard. Paris, 1987, pp. 103-4, ill. (color).

Jean-Pierre Cuzin. Jean-Honoré Fragonard: Vie et oeuvre, catalogue complet des peintures. Fribourg, Switzerland, 1987, pp. 186-88, 324, no. 335, ill. (color), dates it about 1778.

Pierre Rosenberg. Fragonard. Exh. cat., The Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York, 1988, p. 633, no. 148A.

Dore Ashton. Fragonard in the Universe of Painting. Washington, 1988, pp. 190-91, ill., suggests it might have been a commission and probably dates to the later 1770s; comments that Fragonard's "characterization both of the little dog and its inwardly bemused mistress differentiate him from contemporary portrait painters".

Pierre Rosenberg. Tout l'oeuvre peint de Fragonard. Paris, 1989, p. 99, no. 262, ill.

Colnaghi in America: A Survey to Commemorate the First Decade of Colnaghi New York. Ed. Nicholas H. J. Hall. New York, 1992, pp. 22, 25.

Philip Stewart. Engraven Desire: Eros, Image & Text in the French Eighteenth Century. Durham, N.C., 1992, p. 94.

Frederica Harlow. "Pretty as a Picture: French Frames Capture the Lavish Spirit of Rococo." Art & Antiques 17 (December 1994), p. 35, ill. (in frame).

Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 381, ill.

Michael Kimmelman. "At the Met with Roy Lichtenstein: Disciple of Color and Line, Master of Irony." New York Times (March 31, 1995), p. C27, ill.

Michael Fried. Manet's Modernism: or, The Face of Painting in the 1860s. Chicago, 1996, pp. 147, 149-50, 491 n. 142, p. 513 n. 39, ill., believes that Manet saw it at Martinet's in 1860 and that the "general mise-en-scène, paper-wrapped bouquet, and startled, outward-staring dog all anticipate aspects of 'Olympia'".

Michael Kimmelman. Portraits: Talking with Artists at the Met, the Modern, the Louvre and Elsewhere. New York, 1998, pp. 93, 115, ill. p. 92 [text similar to Kimmelman 1995].

Thérèse Burollet. Les peintures. Paris, 2004, p. 61, under no. 14.

Jean-Pierre Cuzin in Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), Orígenes e influencias: De Rembrandt al siglo XXI. Exh. cat., CaixaForum. Barcelona, 2006, pp. 150-51, 217, no. 88, ill. (color) [not in exhibition].

Michel Delon, ed. The Libertine: The Art of Love in Eighteenth-Century France. New York, 2013, ill. p. 329 (color).

Melissa Percival. "Fragonard's Reverse Whodunnit and Other Tales of Relocation." Art History 37 (February 2014), p. 171.

Jean M. Goulemot. Le Petit dictionnaire Fragonard en 16 plaisirs. Paris, 2015, ill. p. 53 (color), dates it about 1775.

Guillaume Faroult. Fragonard amoureux. Paris, 2015, ill. p. 27 (color).

Guillaume Faroult in Fragonard amoureux: Galant et libertin. Ed. Guillaume Faroult. Exh. cat., Musée du Luxembourg. Paris, 2015, pp. 179, 184-85, no. 61, ill. (color), dates it about 1775.

Paul Lang in Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun. Ed. Joseph Baillio and Xavier Salmon. Exh. cat., Grand Palais, Galeries nationales. Paris, 2015, p. 174, under no. 58.

Hélène Delalex, Alexandre Maral, and Nicolas Milovanovic. Marie-Antoinette. Los Angeles, 2016, ill. p. 174 (color) [French ed., 2013].

Yuriko Jackall in America Collects Eighteenth-Century French Painting. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, 2017, p. 296.

Diana J. Kostyrko. The Journal of a Transatlantic Art Dealer: René Gimpel 1918-1939. London, 2017, pp. 70, 80, 153, 200 n. 57, pp. 201, 206, 256, states that Gimpel and Wildenstein included this picture among a selection of eighteenth-century French paintings that they displayed in London in 1906.

Neil Jeffares. Minutiae at the Met. March 29, 2019, unpaginated [https://neiljeffares.wordpress.com/2019/03/29/minutiae-at-the-met/].

Katharine Baetjer. French Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art from the Early Eighteenth Century through the Revolution. New York, 2019, pp. 267-70, no. 84, ill. pp. 28, 268 (color, overall and detail).

Satish Padiyar. Fragonard: Painting Out of Time. London, 2020, pp. 66, 68, 206 n. 83, fig. 33 (color).

Guillaume Faroult. "Review of Padiyar 2020." Burlington Magazine 163 (November 2021), p. 1087, fig. 4 (color).

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Jean Honoré Fragonard | The Love Letter | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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This is a painting without an early history that simply appeared in a mid-nineteenth-century Paris exhibition, as a loan from a private collector, with the title The Love Letter .

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Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français, 1778, K 59 : Demoiselle habillée en Caracot (...), Nicolas Dupin, after Claude Louis Desrais, c. 1778

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https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/search/objects?f=1&p=2&ps=12&f.classification.iconClassDescription.sort=fashion+plates&f.dating.period=18&place=Paris&st=Objects&ii=8#/RP-P-2009-1148,20

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https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/1760s_1770s/KCI_028

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Woman's Dress Apron, Unknown, England, 1750-1785, Costumes, Cotton plain weave with silk and metallic-thread embroidery.

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© The Kyoto Costume Institute, photo by Taishi Hirokawa

You can enlarge by putting the mouse cursor on the image.

1770s - France (Jouy?)

Material

White glazed plain-weave linen with print of blue plant motif; "compères" with buttons; matching petticoat.

Inventory Number(s)

AC7621 92-34-2AB

The front bodice of the gown is in the "compères" style, has two flaps attached to the inside of left and right front bodies, which are fastened by buttons. With the introduction of this style appeared in the late 18th century, the time-consuming stomacher, which had to be pinned to be worn, was no longer necessary.
Except for court dresses, clothes were simplified in the late 18th century. As like this dress, women's clothes became more relaxed and functional, and casual styles gained popularity.

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court dress

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Woman's Dress (Round Gown), Unknown, probably England, Textile: 1750-1760; Constructed: 1760-1775, Costumes, Silk satin with silk embroidery and silk passementerie.

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Frances Abington (nee Barton) as Estifania in

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Frances Abington (nee Barton) as Estifania in "Rule a Wife and Have a Wife", Frances Abington (nee Barton) as Estifania in "Rule a Wife and Have a Wife",

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You must have Javascript enabled to view zooming images

© National Portrait Gallery, London

Mary Darly ('The Female Conoiseur')

published by Mary Darly
hand-coloured etching, published 1 February 1772
6 7/8 in. x 4 7/8 in. (176 mm x 124 mm) plate size; 7 1/2 in. x 5 3/8 in. (190 mm x 137 mm) paper size
Given by Henry Witte Martin, 1861
Reference Collection
NPG D47482

Mary Darly (active 1760-1781), Artist and printseller; wife of Matthew (or Matthias) Darly. Sitter in 1 portrait, Artist or producer associated with 12 portraits.

Mary Darly (active 1760-1781), Artist and printseller; wife of Matthew (or Matthias) Darly. Artist or producer associated with 12 portraits, Sitter in 1 portrait.

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Mary Darly ('The Female Conoiseur') - National Portrait Gallery

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published by Mary Darly hand-coloured etching published 1 February 1772 © National Portrait Gallery, London

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JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources.

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Medium: Brocaded silk jacquard and white silk

Credit Line: Museum purchase

Description Robe a la francaise of brocaded silk with flower sprays and leaves meander pattern on cannele ground, trimmed with self fabric edged with gimp and fly fringe. Scattered flower and leaf sprays in shades of red, peach, pink, blue and green; blue and green floral and foliate trails with leaf subpattern in ivory, on pale blue / green ground. Band of ruched self fabric trim around neck and down CF edges, secondary serpentine ruched band from waist to hem, white silk facing along CF and around hem, double ruffle cuffs lined in white silk

Label Text: ​​A robe à la française is a style of eighteenth-century elite dress with ruffled sleeves, large pleat (or "sack") at the center back, and paniers (caged undergarments worn on the sides and underneath the skirt to widen the hips). These construction elements highlighted the amount of fabric used to make the garment- expensive fabric that would have instantly signaled the wearer's wealth and status.

Exhibitions:

Force of Nature

Designing Women: Fashion Creators and Their Interiors

Power Mode

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Robe a la francaise of brocaded silk with flower sprays and leaves meander pattern on cannele ground, trimmed with self fabric edged with gimp and fly fringe. Scattere ...

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Period Rooms Reoccupied in Style," November 27, 1963 -January 5, 1964.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Vignettes of Fashion," June 22, 1964-1965.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Vanity Fair," December 15, 1977-September 3, 1978.

Saint Louis Art Museum. "Vanity Fair: Four Centuries of Fashion from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," February 3, 1979-April 1, 1979.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Bloom: Fashion's Spring Gardens," March 30-August 20, 1995.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Ceaseless Century: 300 Years of Eighteenth-Century Costume," September 9-November 29, 1998.

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Suit | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Period Rooms Reoccupied in Style," November 27, 1963 -January 5, 1964. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Vignettes of Fashion," June 22, 1964-1965. New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Vanity Fair," December 15, 1977-September 3, 1978. Saint Louis Art Museum.

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Man's At-home Cap, Unknown, Probably France, 1725-1775, Costumes, Silk plain weave with supplementary warp-float patterning, and silk and metallic-thread embroidery.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Fine Art of Costume," October 15, 1954-February 28, 1955.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Period Rooms Reoccupied in Style," November 27, 1963 -January 5, 1964.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Eighteenth-Century Woman," December 12, 1981-September 5, 1982.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Orientalism: Visions of the East in Western Dress," December 8, 1994-March 19, 1995.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th century," April 27-September 6, 2004.

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Robe à la Française | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Fine Art of Costume," October 15, 1954-February 28, 1955. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Period Rooms Reoccupied in Style," November 27, 1963 -January 5, 1964

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Parasol | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections | 1775-1785

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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This long walking cane with an ivory hook features a green silk parasol midway down its length. The parasol is carried with the cover pointing upwards, which was typical for early parasols, as there was no latch to hold the cover closed when it was inverted. Walking sticks were a fashionable accessory for elegant women of the 1770s and 1780s. When the parasol was introduced to fashionable Englishwomen in the 1770s, it was often combined with the walking cane.

This example, one of the earliest parasols in the Museum's collection, is shown with a hand-painted silk polonaise gown from the late 1770s. (see T.30-1910).

Categories

Object type

Materials and techniques

Wood, bone, whalebone, silk

Brief description

Parasol with wooden sticks and silk cover, England, ca. 1775-1785

Physical description

Long handled parasol with wooden sticks and silk cover. The handle is twice as long as the green silk cover. Eight whalebone ribs. Curved-over bone tip.

Dimensions

Credit line

Given by Mrs F. Beddington

Summary

This long walking cane with an ivory hook features a green silk parasol midway down its length. The parasol is carried with the cover pointing upwards, which was typical for early parasols, as there was no latch to hold the cover closed when it was inverted. Walking sticks were a fashionable accessory for elegant women of the 1770s and 1780s. When the parasol was introduced to fashionable Englishwomen in the 1770s, it was often combined with the walking cane.

This example, one of the earliest parasols in the Museum's collection, is shown with a hand-painted silk polonaise gown from the late 1770s. (see T.30-1910).

Collection

Accession number

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Parasol | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Parasol with wooden sticks and silk cover, England, ca. 1775-1785

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satirical print

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Description

Three people seated at a round dinner-table. A fourth, an Englishman wearing a hat, stands up gnawing a large bird which he has seized from a dish which a servant (l.) has just brought in. A Frenchman seated at the table wearing an enormous toupet wig from which hangs a grotesquely elaborate queue, holds up his hands in protest; a second Frenchman, sitting with his hands on his knees, looks on in amusement. A lady on the far side of the table, wearing an enormous cap on her pyramid of hair, is drinking wine as she watches the Englishman. On the wall are two pictures: two prize-fighters fighting (l.), and a monk standing outside a church (r.). Beneath the design is engraved: "An American goose came hot from the spit Egad says the Englishman I'll have a bit His jaws he applies with wond'rous speed To devour the viands on which others shou'd feed. Fie, fie, Monsr La Anglois [sic] cries the frenchman;- forbear, Why the limbs of your brother thus furiously tear? Think you we'll tamely look on and starve? No, no Monsr Anglois, we wait for to carve." c. 1777-1778 Hand-coloured etching

Curator's comments

(Description and comment from M.Dorothy George, 'Catalogue of Political and Personal Satires in the British Museum', V, 1935) This appears intended to represent the attitude of France towards the American war before the signing of the Treaty on 6 Feb. 1778. See 'Ann. Reg.' 1778, 37-8. (Supplementary information) The address of the publisher (who is recorded as working around 1800) suggests that this might be a reprint of an earlier plate (for which Dorothy George's dating of c.1777/8 seems correct).

Registration number

1868,0808.4562

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Three people seated at a round dinner-table. A fourth, an Englishman wearing a hat, stands up gnawing a large bird which he has seized from a dish which a servant (l.) has just brought in.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th century," April 27-September 6, 2004.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "blog.mode: addressing fashion," December 18, 2007-April 13, 2008.

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Dress | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th century," April 27-September 6, 2004. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "blog.mode: addressing fashion," December 18, 2007-April 13, 2008

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Mantua | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections | 1775-1785

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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The tangled garden of chenille decoration on this court mantua enhances the white silk satin fabric. It is tamboured (chain stitched with a hook instead of a needle) with coloured silk and chenille threads, in a meandering pattern of flowers and leaves. A fringe of chenille threads, wound into the shapes of more flowers and leaves, trims the mantua. Bobbin lace of silk and chenille edges the fringe and neckline.

The quality of the needlework suggests French production. In style, the design reflects the woven silk patterns of the 1750s, designs that remained fashionable in embroidery until the 1790s. The mantua was probably made in the late 1770s and the bodice modified slightly in the 1780s. Its petticoat of matching fabric suffered extensive alterations for fancy dress in the late 19th century.

Categories

Object type

Parts

This object consists of 6 parts.

Mantua

Petticoat Part

Sleeve

Sleeve

Stomacher

Trimming

Materials and techniques

Silk linen, silk thread, linen thread, lead; hand-woven and braided, hand-sewn; hand bobbin lace, machine-sewn

Brief description

A woman's mantua and petticoat parts, British, 1775-85 of French silk satin tamboured with chenille thread, chenille fringe, 1780-85; altered 1870-1910

Physical description

A woman's court mantua of white silk satin tamboured in a pattern of floral sprigs with chenille silk thread. The mantua is open at the front with elbow-length sleeves with double scalloped sleeve ruffles. The bodice fronts meet in the centre.The mantua back is comprised of two widths of silk, pleated above the waist and extending into a long train below. The bodice and sleeves are lined with bleached linen; the lower part of the train is faced with white silk taffeta. The sleeves are weighted with lead discs. A broad ruffle of silk extends from the bottom of the bodice at centre front around the back at the waist. A wired fringe of chenille and floss silk in the form of flowers edges the train, the sleeve ruffles, the ruffle at the waist and the neckline. A narrow border of silk bobbin lace trims the train,the sleeve ruffles and the neckline.

Pleat marks on the bodice front indicate that the mantua originally had robings and was probably worn iwth a stomacher. The robings were opened out and pieced so the bodice fronts met in the centre, probably in the early 1780s.

The mantua and petticoat were altered for fancy dress in the late 19th century. The petticoat was unpicked and resewn with a sewing machine; only part of it remains. A pair of full sleeves in the 1890s style, were cut out, probably from the petticoat, and sewn up (since unpicked). These were not sewn into the mantua, as its original sleeves and armhole seams remain. A stomacher was constructed, either from the original stomacher or from the petticoat, to accommodate a late 19th century corset

Dimensions

Silk, selvedge to selvedge width: 73.4cm (approx)

Production type

Unique

Credit line

Given by Major W. S. Gosling

Subjects depicted

Summary

The tangled garden of chenille decoration on this court mantua enhances the white silk satin fabric. It is tamboured (chain stitched with a hook instead of a needle) with coloured silk and chenille threads, in a meandering pattern of flowers and leaves. A fringe of chenille threads, wound into the shapes of more flowers and leaves, trims the mantua. Bobbin lace of silk and chenille edges the fringe and neckline.

The quality of the needlework suggests French production. In style, the design reflects the woven silk patterns of the 1750s, designs that remained fashionable in embroidery until the 1790s. The mantua was probably made in the late 1770s and the bodice modified slightly in the 1780s. Its petticoat of matching fabric suffered extensive alterations for fancy dress in the late 19th century.

Bibliographic reference

Hart, Avril and Susan North, Historical Fashion in Detail: The 17th and 18th Centuries, London: V&A Publications, 1998, p. 92

Collection

Accession number

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Mantua | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A woman's mantua and petticoat parts, British, 1775-85 of French silk satin tamboured with chenille thread, chenille fringe, 1780-85; altered 1870-1910

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oseph Wright of Derby (English, 1734-1797). Portrait of John Milnes, 1776. 

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https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1770-1779/

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Robe à l’anglaise of green “Pekin” (silk) trimmed with Italian gauze and a “Pouf” or Italian gauze edged with flowers; pink shoes and white rosette

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1778. Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français. "Bonnet d'un gout nouveau et élégant avec des perles..."

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1778. Gallerie des Modes et Costumes Français. "Bonnet d'un gout nouveau et élégant avec des perles..."

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Archduchess Marie Antoinette, Queen of France

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JSTOR is a digital library of academic journals, books, and primary sources.

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Fashion plate of ‘Two Ladies in the Dress of 1778’

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P3273 Fashion plates, (60), engraved, from published ladies diaries including Ladies Own Memorandum Book, and Carnan’s Ladies Complete Pocket Book, 1769-1800 Fashion plate, ‘Two Ladies in the Dress of 1778’

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The queen and her sisters-in-law, the countesses of Provence and Artois, are in the Salon de la Paix, at the end of the Hall of Mirrors. They are all in Polish dresses, already adopted at Versailles at the end of the 1770s outside of ceremonies. Marie-Antoinette here relieves Madame de Bellegarde: she had intervened to protect her husband, condemned by a war council.

La reine et ses belles-sœurs, les comtesses de Provence et d’Artois, se trouvent dans le Salon de la Paix, à l’extrémité de la Galerie des Glaces. Elles sont toutes en robe à la polonaise, déjà adoptée à Versailles à la fin de ces années 1770 en dehors des cérémonies. Marie-Antoinette relève ici Madame de Bellegarde : elle était intervenue pour protéger son mari, condamné par un conseil de guerre.

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 Fig. 1 - Nicolas Dupin (French). Page from Gallerie des modes, 1778-1785. Engraving; 23 x 16 cm. Paris: National Library of France. Source: BnF Gallica

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Louis XVI in sacred costume - Antoine-François Callet - Google Arts & Culture

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King of France and Navarre Louis XVI was the grandson of Louis XV. He became Dauphin in 1765 and inherited the throne in 1774 at the age of 20. In 1770 the…

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A man’s court coat, waistcoat and breeches; the coat of green and yellow shot silk taffeta. 

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https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O362870/mans-suit/

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Pair of Shoes | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections | 1780

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Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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Not currently on display at the V&A

Cream silk shoe with speckled "shagreen" texture to silk weave, high waisted heel, pointed tongue and latchets. Trimmed with white silk braid.

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
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Pair of Shoes | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pair of cream silk shoes trimmed with braid

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© The Kyoto Costume Institute, photo by Toru Kogure

You can enlarge by putting the mouse cursor on the image.

c. 1780 - France

Material

Pink silk taffeta with painted garlands; matching stomacher and petticoat.

Inventory Number(s)

AC5312 86-8-1AC

This dress, with its dynamic silhouette, shows a peak of women's court dress in the latter part of the 18th century. The skirt, which widely expanded on each side, just barely achieves balance when combined with the enormous hairstyle. This pinnacle of artificial beauty emptily expressed the authority of the royalty and nobility before French revolution.
The lightweight silk taffeta gown and petticoat are adorned by rhythmical, hand-painted garland motif. Until the 18th century, pattern was mainly woven textile in Europe. In the 17th century, printed and hand-painted cloth from China and India was introduced, leading to the creation of new printing techniques in Europe during the 18th century. The dress shown here, the last rococo period, shows the craze for dignified silk textiles has already out of fashion, and anticipates simple and light trend of the next period. Also, the coiffures and wigs of this period were enormous in comparison to any other period, and became the suitable target of caricatures. They became odd and extravagant, looking like picturesque landscapes and flowerbeds, and creations such as models of warships, horse-drawn carriages, and fruit baskets were placed on top of wigs. Coiffeurs such as Legros de Rumigny (?-1770) creating these extraordinary hairstyles. Their excessiveness is a sign of the end of the influence of French aristocracy.

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 Marie Antionette in a Redingote, ca. 1780. Source:https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1780-1789/ 

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KCI デジタル・アーカイブス

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｜1780s-1790sのコレクション｜KCI デジタル・アーカイブス

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左のケープは、「ラモヌール（煙突掃除人）」と呼ばれたアルザス製プリントで、焦茶色の地にインド更紗風の花柄を全体に散らしている。右は花柄を全体

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Watercolour buttons

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Button | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Met’s Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.

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Page from Barbara Johnson's Album of Styles and Fabrics, ca. 1780s. source:https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1780-1789/ 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Shirt Frill | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Shirt frill of needlepoint lace, France, 1780s

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Request to view at the Prints & Drawings Study Room, level F , Case RMC, Shelf 9, Box H

Miniature painting originally referred to the art of painting in watercolour on vellum (fine animal skin). It developed in the early 16th century out of the tradition of illuminating manuscripts (hand-written books). In England, miniature was predominantly a portrait art. It was practised by specialist miniature painters, such as Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619). On the Continent, miniature painting as a portrait art had a few great practitioners, such as the French painter Jean Clouet (1516?-1572). But not even Clouet was a specialist. Like Hans Holbein, he worked both in miniature and in large in oil.

In France, it was not until the 1770s that a notable school of portrait miniaturists emerged. It was only then that they were able to rival English ones, such as Richard Cosway (1742-1821) and John Smart (1742-1811). Like Cosway and Smart, these French artists worked in watercolour on ivory.

In the early 18th century ivory began to replace vellum as a support for miniature painting. It was introduced by Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757), a Venetian artist. Its use developed in distinct ways in England and on the Continent. In continental Europe, and especially in France, Carriera's method of using opaque 'gouache' (watercolour mixed with white) was influential. She exploited the ivory primarily by leaving the face transparent. In contrast, by the 1770s artists of the English School tended towards transparent pigments. They very rarely used gouache.

Categories

Object type

Materials and techniques

Brief description

Portrait miniature of an unknown woman, said to be the Duchesse de Châteauroux, holding a miniature set in a bracelet, watercolour on ivory, painted by Pierre Chasselat (1753-post 1814).

Physical description

Portrait miniature of an unknown woman, said to be the Duchesse de Châteauroux, holding a miniature set in a bracelet, watercolour on ivory. She is seated on a blue and gold chair with a small dog beside her, holding a quilled pen in its mouth

Dimensions

Subjects depicted

Summary

Miniature painting originally referred to the art of painting in watercolour on vellum (fine animal skin). It developed in the early 16th century out of the tradition of illuminating manuscripts (hand-written books). In England, miniature was predominantly a portrait art. It was practised by specialist miniature painters, such as Nicholas Hilliard (1547-1619). On the Continent, miniature painting as a portrait art had a few great practitioners, such as the French painter Jean Clouet (1516?-1572). But not even Clouet was a specialist. Like Hans Holbein, he worked both in miniature and in large in oil.

In France, it was not until the 1770s that a notable school of portrait miniaturists emerged. It was only then that they were able to rival English ones, such as Richard Cosway (1742-1821) and John Smart (1742-1811). Like Cosway and Smart, these French artists worked in watercolour on ivory.

In the early 18th century ivory began to replace vellum as a support for miniature painting. It was introduced by Rosalba Carriera (1675-1757), a Venetian artist. Its use developed in distinct ways in England and on the Continent. In continental Europe, and especially in France, Carriera's method of using opaque 'gouache' (watercolour mixed with white) was influential. She exploited the ivory primarily by leaving the face transparent. In contrast, by the 1770s artists of the English School tended towards transparent pigments. They very rarely used gouache.

Bibliographic reference

Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1941, London: HMSO, 1954.

Collection

Accession number

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

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An unknown woman, said to be the Duchesse de Châteauroux, holding a miniature set in a bracelet | Chasselat, Pierre | V&A Explore The Collections

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Portrait miniature of an unknown woman, said to be the Duchesse de Châteauroux, holding a miniature set in a bracelet, watercolour on ivory, painted by Pierre Chasselat (1753-post 1814).

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Jeune femme à sa toilette by Michel Garnier

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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Not currently on display at the V&A

Red silk shoes with lozenge pattern topstitching, worn and faded

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
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Pair of Shoes | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Pair of shoes, red silk with topstitching

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fashion plate of ‘Twelve Fashionable Head Dresses of 1782’

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
P3273 Fashion plates, (60), engraved, from published ladies diaries including Ladies Own Memorandum Book, and Carnan’s Ladies Complete Pocket Book, 1769-1800 Fashion plate, ‘Twelve Fashionable Head Dresses of 1782’

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Dame habillée en grand Domino tres élégant pour aller au Bal masqué. - designed and printed france 1783

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Orientalism: Visions of the East in Western Dress," December 8, 1994-March 19, 1995.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Ceaseless Century: 300 Years of Eighteenth-Century Costume," September 9-November 29, 1998.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Dangerous Liaisons: Fashion and Furniture in the 18th century," April 27-September 6, 2004.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Robe à l'Anglaise | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Orientalism: Visions of the East in Western Dress," December 8, 1994-March 19, 1995. New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Ceaseless Century: 300 Years of Eighteenth-Century Costume," September 9-November 29, 1998

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
This long walking cane with an ivory hook features a green silk parasol midway down its length. The parasol is carried with the cover pointing upwards, which was typical for early parasols, as there was no latch to hold the cover closed when it was inverted. Walking sticks were a fashionable accessory for elegant women of the 1770s and 1780s. When the parasol was introduced to fashionable Englishwomen in the 1770s, it was often combined with the walking cane.

This example, one of the earliest parasols in the Museum's collection, is shown with a hand-painted silk polonaise gown from the late 1770s. (see T.30-1910).

Categories

Object type

Materials and techniques

Wood, bone, whalebone, silk

Brief description

Parasol with wooden sticks and silk cover, England, ca. 1775-1785

Physical description

Long handled parasol with wooden sticks and silk cover. The handle is twice as long as the green silk cover. Eight whalebone ribs. Curved-over bone tip.

Dimensions

Credit line

Given by Mrs F. Beddington

Summary

This long walking cane with an ivory hook features a green silk parasol midway down its length. The parasol is carried with the cover pointing upwards, which was typical for early parasols, as there was no latch to hold the cover closed when it was inverted. Walking sticks were a fashionable accessory for elegant women of the 1770s and 1780s. When the parasol was introduced to fashionable Englishwomen in the 1770s, it was often combined with the walking cane.

This example, one of the earliest parasols in the Museum's collection, is shown with a hand-painted silk polonaise gown from the late 1770s. (see T.30-1910).

Collection

Accession number

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest Feedback

Shuffle objects

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Parasol | Unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Parasol with wooden sticks and silk cover, England, ca. 1775-1785

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
© The Kyoto Costume Institute, photo by Takashi Hatakeyama

You can enlarge by putting the mouse cursor on the image.

c. 1785 - France

Material

Pale blue striped silk; "compères" front; matching petticoat.

Inventory Number(s)

AC4320 82-17-39AB

A dress of a blue and pale blue thin-striped pattern, along with a soft luster. In order to pull up the gown's hem, a cord is attached to it, which makes it possible to wear as robe à la Polonaise, as well. In the latter half of the 18th century, clothing went toward simplification in particular women's clothing advanced toward a functional direction without the formality. Even textiles for dress with a light texture entered the mainstream. Moreover, the preference to striped patterns that became the fashions that involve all the classes from this period also shows such a tendency.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.provider_name
Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections

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A man's court coat of green silk taffeta, with a 2-inch (5 cm) standing collar 2-piece sleeves ending in cuffs, 3¾ inches (9.4 cm) deep at the front. The fronts curve from neck to hem with pleats 2¾ inches (7 cm) deep, below the hip set beside the centre back. Each front has a pocket and scalloped pocket flap; the centre-back seam is open below the hip. The pockets are lined with unbleached linen, the flaps with ivory silk twill. The coat is embroidered-to-shape with silk floss in shades of pink, green, blue and white in a pattern of roses and tulips, on the collar, cuffs and pocket flaps, around the front neck and pockets, along the fronts, pleats and centre-back opening.

The coat was probably worn as theatre costume in the late 19th century. It has been relined with unbleached linen, the pleats stitched down, repairs made to the shoulder seams and back of the collar. The remaining buttons were re-stitched to the coat, 6 on the right front, 2 on each cuff and one at the top of the pleats. Two buttonholes were worked and cut on the left front.

Categories

Object type

Materials and techniques

Silk, linen; hand-woven, hand-embroidered, hand-sewn

Brief description

Man's court coat, 1785-95, English/French; Embroidered green silk taffeta, 1870-1910

Physical description

A man's court coat of green silk taffeta, with a 2-inch (5 cm) standing collar 2-piece sleeves ending in cuffs, 3¾ inches (9.4 cm) deep at the front. The fronts curve from neck to hem with pleats 2¾ inches (7 cm) deep, below the hip set beside the centre back. Each front has a pocket and scalloped pocket flap; the centre-back seam is open below the hip. The pockets are lined with unbleached linen, the flaps with ivory silk twill. The coat is embroidered-to-shape with silk floss in shades of pink, green, blue and white in a pattern of roses and tulips, on the collar, cuffs and pocket flaps, around the front neck and pockets, along the fronts, pleats and centre-back opening.

The coat was probably worn as theatre costume in the late 19th century. It has been relined with unbleached linen, the pleats stitched down, repairs made to the shoulder seams and back of the collar. The remaining buttons were re-stitched to the coat, 6 on the right front, 2 on each cuff and one at the top of the pleats. Two buttonholes were worked and cut on the left front.

Dimensions

Top of right collar to hem length: 112.0cm (approx)

Chest under armholes circumference: 96.0cm (approx)

Collection

Accession number

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest Feedback

Shuffle objects

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Coat | unknown | V&A Explore The Collections

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Man's court coat, 1785-95, English/French; Embroidered green silk taffeta, 1870-1910

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Man's three-piece court suit in dark green and beige striped silk velvet embroidered with floral border design in multicolor silk; frock coat, breeches and vest

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Member of the Academy of Beaux-Arts, François-Guillaume Ménageot was an 18th century French painter.

Full title : François-Guillaume Ménageot (1744-1816)

Explore museums and play with Art Transfer, Pocket Galleries, Art Selfie and more

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François-Guillaume Ménageot - Marie-Victoire Lemoine - Google Arts & Culture

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Member of the Academy of Beaux-Arts, François-Guillaume Ménageot was an 18th century French painter. Full title : François-Guillaume Ménageot (1744-1816)

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Cabinet des Modes, January 1785

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https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k5608591g/f61.item

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Mens fashionable hairstyles

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Cabinet des modes, ou les Modes nouvelles, décrites d’une manière claire & précise, & représentées par des planches en taille-douce, enluminées

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Cabinet des modes, ou les Modes nouvelles, décrites d’une manière claire & précise, & représentées par des planches en taille-douce, enluminées -- 1785 -- fascicules

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Cabinet des modes, ou les Modes nouvelles, décrites d'une manière claire & précise, & représentées par des planches en taille-douce, enluminées 15th Dec 1785   

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Palais Galliera | Musée de la mode de la Ville de Paris

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Circa1785

Dark blue wool fabric, red wool twill lining, linen oilcloth, braid, silk and linen trim.

Gal 1990.183.X

Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris

With its narrow basques and small upright collar, this coat is set apart from fashionable garments by its colours - dark blue lined with red - and its juxtaposed braid. This was a formal garment probably worn by a servant belonging to the royal household. Servants' dress was coded by colour and ornamentation. The wearing of livery was restricted to those of inferior rank and designated by the term 'the king's livery'. The king's livery was of blue woollen fabric with crimson and white braid, while the queen's was red with blue and white braid. The design of the king's livery braids changed under Louis XIV, when white cord was used to form ovals on red velvet ribbon. For formal livery coats like this one, two such braids were separated by a third, of inverted triangles. Travellers' accounts mention thousands of liveried servants at court; at royal entries and other ceremonies their numbers and splendid appearance enhanced even more the renown of the French monarchy.

Notice's author : Pascale Gorguet-Ballesteros

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Dress coat bearing the livery of the King of France

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With its narrow basques and small upright collar, this coat is set apart from fashionable garments by its colours - dark blue lined with red - and its juxtaposed braid. This was a formal garment probably worn by a servant belonging to the royal household. Servants' dress was coded by colour and ornamentation.

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Palais Galliera | Musée de la mode de la Ville de Paris

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Circa 1785

Blue silk taffeta, blue silk trim, wooden stay.

Gal 1997.76.1

Acquired by the City of Paris

Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris

This bodice, which laced in the back, was not boned. Instead, an interior gusset at the center of the bodice held a wooden busk, which stiffened the front. The back lacing, low neckline and short sleeves make it similar to the stays used for formal court wear. It was probably used on unofficial occasions, or when fully boned stays could not be worn for health reasons.

Apart from the writings of her memoirists and the letters she exchanged with her mother Maria Teresa of Austria, little documentary material exists regarding Marie Antoinette's fashion leanings: only the Gazette des atours (1782), the Etat de la garde-robe de Marie Antoinette by her lady-in-waiting Madame d'Ossun, the account book of Madame Eloffe, one of her marchandes de modes (Paris, Archives Nationales) and this blue silk bodice bought at auction by the City of Paris. It was found pressed between the pages of Madame Eloffe's account book. This valuable archival material confirms the queen's passion for fashion, and the importance of the marchandes de modes, notably the famous Rose Bertin, among her suppliers. In addition to embellishing garments with lace, gauze, feathers and artificial flowers, the marchandes de mode made bonnets and other headgear and sold lace and fans. Dotted with pinholes, this bodice was given, as was the custom,to Madame Eloffe for experiments in ornamentation.

Notice's author : Pascale Gorguet-Ballesteros

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Bodice said to have belonged to Marie Antoinette (1755-1793)

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This bodice, which laced in the back, was not boned. Instead, an interior gusset at the center of the bodice held a wooden busk, which stiffened the front. The back lacing, low neckline and short sleeves make it similar to the stays used for formal court wear.

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Art of Fashion," October 23, 1967-January 1, 1968.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Eighteenth-Century Woman," December 12, 1981-September 5, 1982.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Fashion and History: A Dialogue," December 7, 1992-March 21, 1993.

New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Ceaseless Century: 300 Years of Eighteenth-Century Costume," September 9-November 29, 1998.

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Robe à la Française | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Art of Fashion," October 23, 1967-January 1, 1968. New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Eighteenth-Century Woman," December 12, 1981-September 5, 1982

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Entre-fenêtre : Don Quichotte à cheval, de la tenture de l’Histoire de Don Quichotte tissée pour le baron de Breteuil

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Cabinet des modes, ou les Modes nouvelles, décrites d'une manière claire & précise, & représentées par des planches en taille-douce, enluminées

1st December 1785

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Magasin des modes nouvelles, françaises et anglaises, décrites d'une manière claire & précise, & représentées par des planches en taille-douce, enluminées

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Magasin des modes nouvelles, françaises et anglaises, décrites d'une manière claire & précise, & représentées par des planches en taille-douce, enluminées -- 1786 -- fascicules

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Cabinet des modes, ou les Modes nouvelles, décrites d'une manière claire & précise, & représentées par des planches en taille-douce, enluminées

15th June 1786

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Selena Lady Skipwith by Joshua Reynolds

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Magasin des modes nouvelles, April 20 1787. source:https://fashionhistory.fitnyc.edu/1780-1789/ 

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Marie-Joseph-Yves-Gilbert du Mortier, marquis de La Fayette - Louis-Léopold Boilly - Google Arts & Culture

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Full title : Marie-Joseph-Yves-Gilbert du Mortier, marquis de La Fayette (1757-1834)

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Suit | French | The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Period Rooms Reoccupied in Style,” November 27, 1963 –January 5, 1964.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Vignettes of Fashion,” June 22, 1964–1965.

New York

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10th April 1788 from Magasin de modes nouvelles

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Presse et revuesMagasin des modes nouvelles, françaises et anglaises, décrites d'une maniè          20th February, 1788

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Title: Comtesse de la Châtre (Marie Charlotte Louise Perrette Aglaé Bontemps, 1762–1848)

Artist: Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris)

Date: 1789

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: 45 x 34 1/2 in. (114.3 x 87.6 cm)

Classification: Paintings

Credit Line: Gift of Jessie Woolworth Donahue, 1954

Accession Number: 54.182