Stomacher
1760-1780 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A stomacher is a decorative panel of fabric, usually triangular in shape, worn to fill the space between the front edges of a woman’s open gown. The stomacher formed part of the ensemble of fashionable women’s dress from the 1680s to the 1780s. This example mimics the buttoned fastening and skirts of a man’s waistcoat. It may well have been worn with a jacket styled after masculine fashions, such as a woman’s riding coat. The design and execution of the embroidery, as well as the style of the stomacher, suggest an Italian origin.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Silk, linen, silver, gold; hand-woven, hand-sewn; hand-embroidered |
| Brief description | Woman's stomacher of cream silk, 1760-80, Italian; coloured & silver-gilt embroidery, waistcoat shape |
| Physical description | Woman's stomacher of cream silk, lined with linen. It is embroidered with coloured silk floss and silver-gilt filé and filé-wrapped parchment in a floral design . It is shapled like the front of a woman's riiding waistcoat with skirts below the waist, uncut buttonholes and decorative buttons. The neck, centre fronts and skirts are bound with wide silver-gilt filé ribbon. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Mrs P. Sanguinetti |
| Summary | A stomacher is a decorative panel of fabric, usually triangular in shape, worn to fill the space between the front edges of a woman’s open gown. The stomacher formed part of the ensemble of fashionable women’s dress from the 1680s to the 1780s. This example mimics the buttoned fastening and skirts of a man’s waistcoat. It may well have been worn with a jacket styled after masculine fashions, such as a woman’s riding coat. The design and execution of the embroidery, as well as the style of the stomacher, suggest an Italian origin. |
| Bibliographic reference | Avril Hart and Susan North, Historical Fashion in Detail: the 17th and 18th centuries, London: V&A, 1998, p. 202
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.182-1958 |
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 Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis.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 | July 23, 2007 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
