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Waistcoat panel
unknown - Enlarge image
Waistcoat panel
- Place of origin:
France (made)
- Date:
late 18th century (made)
- Artist/Maker:
unknown (production)
- Materials and Techniques:
Silk, net, chenille and satin, embroidered
- Credit Line:
Given by Margaret Simeon
- Museum number:
T.26A-1961
- Gallery location:
In Store
Fashionable embroideries of the late 18th century were usually worked to create a very smooth, flat appearance, alleviated in this instance by the use of applied net and by small amounts of chenille thread (in the W-shapes which form part of the ground pattern). French embroidered waistcoats were very popular in England and the Exchequer Records in the Public Records Office refer to many instances of French waistcoat panels being smuggled across the Channel to avoid paying duty.
Waistcoat panels were embroidered to shape; the areas of undecorated silk allowed the waistcoat to be cut and fitted to whatever size was required. In this panel the pocket flap was embroidered in the upper right hand corner and was then cut out, hemmed and stitched into place.
