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Cape

1880s (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

An ingenious but simple way of manipulating birds' down has been employed in the construction of this mantle. It is made of cream silk entirely covered with links formed from stranded down shaped into roundels with cotton binding. The borders are trimmed with down, and the tufts have been hand-stitched to a cotton ground, to which are attached pendant down trimmings. The mantle is almost weightless and its silky, sumptuous material is incredibly soft to the touch.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Plain woven silk, cotton bound down and hand stitched, lined with silk
Brief description
Cape of swansdown (Cygnus spec.), cotton and silk, with pendant down trimmings, made by Vinogradova, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia 1880s
Physical description
Cape of white swansdown (Cygnus spec.) and made of cream silk entirely covered with links formed from stranded down shaped into roundels with cotton binding. The borders are trimmed with down, and the tufts have been hand-stitched to a cotton ground, to which are attached pendant down trimmings. A narrow cream and yellow silk ribbon is stitched around the inside border. Press studs down the front opening are most likely secondary additions.

Shaped to cover the shoulders and has a narrow band collar. Lined with silk.
Dimensions
  • Height: 530mm
  • Width: 810mm
  • Depth: 100mm
Dimensions when mounted.
Marks and inscriptions
(Red and round manufacturer's stamp in Russian on the inside of the mantle, at the back. The stamp was identified and translated by Rifat Gafifullin, Archives Curator at the State Museum, Pavlovsk (e-mail correspondence with Edwina Ehrman, 9 August 2016). )
Translation
'Vinogradova's product'
Credit line
Given by Miss H.M. Good
Object history
RF number is 1982/1934.

Historical significance: A jacket similarly made and dated to the 1860s survives in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

A manufacturer’s stamp on the lining of this cape identifies the maker as Anna Mikhailova Vinogradova, a respected and experienced craftswoman who exhibited her work at professional fairs in Russia and at International Exhibitions. She was the wife of a ‘collegiate secretary’ and specialised in items made from swan, eider and goose down. Her workshop was based in Nizhniy Novgorod and was established in 1857. By 1865 she employed up to 20 craftswomen and sold goods up to the value of 3,000 roubles both within Russia and beyond. Her business continued to expand and by 1882 she employed 25 workers in her main factory and outsourced work to a further 25 workers. The business bought in up to 20,000 roubles annually. The raw materials for her products were purchased in Russia and the finished goods were sold both within Russia and abroad.

Her work was exhibited at:

The Moscow Fair of Russian Manufacture Products in 1865. Amongst the items she exhibited were primarily down mantles and hats made from eiderdown and swansdown. There was also a neckerchief of swansdown and down shoes.

The Russian Section of the Paris World Fair in 1867. Amongst the items she exhibited were a capote knitted from swansdown, capes and bonnets, neckerchiefs and ladies hats, woven ladies’ coats and trimmings for dress.

The All-Russian Manufacture Exhibition of 1870 in which she presented several high quality examples of ‘ready-made dress’ formed from swan, goose and duck down. An article published in The Petersburg Paper in 1870 notes that she was awarded a Silver Medal for items made from swan, goose and duck down which were distinguished by the craftsmanship, distinctiveness of execution and were ‘quite beautiful’.

The Russian Section of the International Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876, presenting knitted and woven items from swansdown and samples of down textile.

The All-Russian Manufacturing and Arts Exhibition in Moscow in 1882. The products she exhibited included: men’s coats; children’s dress; capes; caps; scarves; hats; muffs; shoes; cloaks; fur coats; boas and samples of swan, white and grey goose down.

By the 1890s she appears either to have retired or died, as, at the Nizhniy Novgorod Fair in 1892, her successors, Lyubov Ivanovna Vinogradova and his wife are listed as exhibiting ‘down items.’

At the World Columbus Fair in Chicago in 1895 Lyubov Ivanovna Vinogradova again exhibited Swansdown items.

Similarly, at the All-Russian Manufacturing and Arts Exhibition in 1896, Lyubov Ivanovna Vinogradova exhibited several items made from swansdown valued at approximately 4,000 roubles.

References:

A.Mamontov. Catalogue of the 5th Moscow Fair of Russian Manufacture Products, 1865 (Moscow: Moscow Publishing House of Lazarev Institute of Eastern Languages, 1865).

n.a. Catalogue of the Russian Section of the Paris Word Fair, 1867 (St. Petersburg: Publishing House of Common Good Partnership, 1867).

The Petersburg Paper. Additions to the Calendar “Petersburg” (1870) (St. Petersburg: Publishing House of M.O. Ettinger, 1870).

n.a. Report of All-Russian Manufacture Exhibition of 1870 (St. Petersburg: Publishing House of “Common Good” Partnership, 1871).

n.a. Catalogue of the Russian Section of the International Exhibition of 1876 at Philadelphia. (St. Petersburg: Tip. T-va "Obshchestvennai︠a︡ Polʹza, 1876)

n.a. Catalogue of All Russian Manufacturing and Arts Exhibition of 1882 in Moscow (Moscow: Martynov, management counteragent of All-Russian Manufacturing and Arts Exhibition, 1882).

F.I.Marakin. ‘Weaving from goose down.’ In: Nizhniy Novgorod Album, Volume VII [possibly a compilation]. Edited by the committee member and secretary, A.S. Gasitsky. (Nizhny Novgorod: The Statistic Committee of the Nizhny Novgorod Province, publishing house of the Nizhny Novgorod Administration, 1887).

n.a. Address-Calendar of Nizhniy-Novgorod Fair for 1892 (Nizhniy-Novgorod: Publishing House of the Nizhniy-Novgorod Province Administration, 1892 [Edition of Nizhniy-Novgorod Fair Office]).

Report by the General Commissioner of the Russian Section of the World Columbus Fair in Chicago, prepared for His Excellency the Finance Minister (St. Petersburg: Publishing House of V.Kirschbaum, 1895).

n.a. Detailed catalogue of the sections of All-Russian Manufacturing and Arts Exhibitions of 1896, in Nizhniy Novgorod, Section VIII, Textile Items (Moscow: Publishing House of Russian Partnership of Printing and Publishing, 1896).

(translated from the Russian by Jevgenija Ravcova, 19th August 2016)

See also: V.A.Belanina, 'An ensemble for Alice of Hesse?' State museum-reserve, "Russia-Germany, The Space of Communication", Papers of X scientific conference in Tsarskoye selo, Saint Petersburg, 2004.
Association
Summary
An ingenious but simple way of manipulating birds' down has been employed in the construction of this mantle. It is made of cream silk entirely covered with links formed from stranded down shaped into roundels with cotton binding. The borders are trimmed with down, and the tufts have been hand-stitched to a cotton ground, to which are attached pendant down trimmings. The mantle is almost weightless and its silky, sumptuous material is incredibly soft to the touch.
Collection
Accession number
T.367-1982

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Record createdJuly 26, 2005
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