Gown
ca. 1743 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This silk fabric used to make this gown is a damask. Damask is a type of weave whose effect depends on the differing play of light on its pattern surfaces, which alternate between the smooth face and the contrasting reverse of satin weave. With the importance of light reflection it is particularly effective when woven in silk, though it was also woven in worsted (wool). It was widely used as a dress fabric in the early and mid-18th century, for women's gowns and men's nightgowns (informal wear at home).
Because the effect of damask was more subtle than multicoloured silks, designs for silk damasks were generally on a larger scale. A contemporary handbook to art and manufacture, George Smith's Laboratory or School of Arts, commented: 'Damask designs require the boldest stroke of any; the flowers and leaves should always be large and the small work omitted as much as possible unless it be in the middle of a leaf or flower.' This silk demonstrates that rule well.
Because the effect of damask was more subtle than multicoloured silks, designs for silk damasks were generally on a larger scale. A contemporary handbook to art and manufacture, George Smith's Laboratory or School of Arts, commented: 'Damask designs require the boldest stroke of any; the flowers and leaves should always be large and the small work omitted as much as possible unless it be in the middle of a leaf or flower.' This silk demonstrates that rule well.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk, linen, silk thread; hand-woven damask, hand-sewn. |
| Brief description | A woman's gown, 1743-1745, English, of ivory silk damask, Spitalfields, ca. 1743, altered 1875-1910 |
| Physical description | A woman's gown of ivory silk damask. It is open at the front with robings and pleated at the back. The bodice is lined with linen; the sleeves with a coarser linen. The sleeves are elbow-length; the cuffs are deep with three pleats. The skirt is made of seven panels of silk with and eighth cut in half and sewn to either side of the front. In the 19th century, the waistline was unpicked and resewn, and attempts made to reconfigure the robings for fancy dress. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Mrs E. F. Murray |
| Object history | Given by Mrs E F Murray of Weston-Super-Mare in 1960. Registered file 1960/1683. The gown was said to be the wedding dress of Ann Vannam Somerville, who married Thomas Fownes in 1764, but it does not resemble the dress in the portrait by Gainsborough of her in wedding dress. The dress descended in the Fownes family with this tradition attached to it, however it may have belonged to Ann Vannum Somerville's mother, who married in 1731. When the dress was given to Mrs Muray it was in pieces and was put together by Debenhams in 1940. Conservation work after acquisition included restoring the robings to their original placing, and unpicking and restitching the left-hand side of the skirt to correspond with old stitch marks. |
| Summary | This silk fabric used to make this gown is a damask. Damask is a type of weave whose effect depends on the differing play of light on its pattern surfaces, which alternate between the smooth face and the contrasting reverse of satin weave. With the importance of light reflection it is particularly effective when woven in silk, though it was also woven in worsted (wool). It was widely used as a dress fabric in the early and mid-18th century, for women's gowns and men's nightgowns (informal wear at home). Because the effect of damask was more subtle than multicoloured silks, designs for silk damasks were generally on a larger scale. A contemporary handbook to art and manufacture, George Smith's Laboratory or School of Arts, commented: 'Damask designs require the boldest stroke of any; the flowers and leaves should always be large and the small work omitted as much as possible unless it be in the middle of a leaf or flower.' This silk demonstrates that rule well. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.344-1960 |
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| Record created | September 22, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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