Jacket
1875-1885 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This midnight blue velvet jacket with fitted sleeves, a tightly nipped in waist, and a long pointed front and back is typical of the late 1870s to early 1880s style. The jacket has been cut out and made up and the hand-embroidered design of birds and moths applied after construction. Floss stitch has been used to work the embroidery in long and short stitches and satin stitch; this was probably domestic work carried out at home rather than the work of a professional seamstress.
In the nineteenth century there was a strong interest in the natural world and explorers made frequent expeditions to record new discoveries of nature. The birds and insects that decorate this jacket are rather fanciful and stylised, indicating that they may have been taken from an illustrative rather than naturalistic source.
In the nineteenth century there was a strong interest in the natural world and explorers made frequent expeditions to record new discoveries of nature. The birds and insects that decorate this jacket are rather fanciful and stylised, indicating that they may have been taken from an illustrative rather than naturalistic source.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk velvet, embroidered in long and short stitch, and satin stitch in coloured silks, boned with baleen |
| Brief description | Woman's jacket, 1850-1874, English, embroidered with birds and moths |
| Physical description | Midnight blue velvet jacket embroidered with birds and moths, with fitted sleeves, a nipped in waist and long pointed front and back |
| Credit line | Given by Messrs Harrods Ltd. |
| Object history | This was part of a very large collection of items of dress and accessories which was given to the Museum by Harrods, the department store, in 1913. The collection had been formed by the artist Talbot Hughes, who wrote a book on the history of dress, illustrated with photographs of models wearing items from his collection. A large firm in America had offered to buy the collection and present it to the Metropolitan Museum, New York, but Hughes did not want it to go abroad. At the suggestion of Cecil Harcourt Smith of the V&A, Harrods bought it for £2,500 and gave it to the Museum for the 'public good'. Harrods displayed the collection for three weeks in December 1913. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | This midnight blue velvet jacket with fitted sleeves, a tightly nipped in waist, and a long pointed front and back is typical of the late 1870s to early 1880s style. The jacket has been cut out and made up and the hand-embroidered design of birds and moths applied after construction. Floss stitch has been used to work the embroidery in long and short stitches and satin stitch; this was probably domestic work carried out at home rather than the work of a professional seamstress. In the nineteenth century there was a strong interest in the natural world and explorers made frequent expeditions to record new discoveries of nature. The birds and insects that decorate this jacket are rather fanciful and stylised, indicating that they may have been taken from an illustrative rather than naturalistic source. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.871-1913 |
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
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | September 27, 2006 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
