Please complete the form to email this item.

Corset

Corset

  • Place of origin:

    France (possibly, made)
    Great Britain, UK (possibly, made)

  • Date:

    1864 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Silk, edged with machine-made lace, reinforced with whalebone, metal, lined with cotton twill

  • Credit Line:

    Given by the Burrows family

  • Museum number:

    T.169-1961

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

  • Download image

The corset was worn over the chemise and it moulded the figure of the wearer into the fashionable shape of the day. These shapes ranged from slender to curvaceous and everything in between during the 19th century. Like the chemise, the corset in the 19th century was made of a wider variety of materials, in this case blue silk lined with linen. It did not need to be very tightly laced, for the illusion of a small waist was created by the very wide circumference of the crinoline.

Physical description

Corset of blue silk trimmed at the top edge with a narrow band of machine-made lace. The corset reaches the top of the hips and is gored at the bust and hips. The corset is stiffened with whalebone and machine-stitched with an incised swivel latch to lock the busk fastening. There is a lace fastening at the back. Boned at the centre front, back and diagonally from the side to back and sides to front. The boning is hand-stitched into place. Metal eyelets. Lined with cotton twill.

Place of Origin

France (possibly, made)
Great Britain, UK (possibly, made)

Date

1864 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Silk, edged with machine-made lace, reinforced with whalebone, metal, lined with cotton twill

Dimensions

Circumference: 77 cm bust, Circumference: 56 cm waist, Circumference: 76 cm hips, Height: 33.5 cm front, Height: 34 cm back, Length: 14 in

Object history note

The donors of this corset linked it to a 1864 marriage in the family, but there is no further information.

Descriptive line

Boned corset of silk trimmed with machine-made lace, possibly made in France or Great Britain, 1864

Categories

Textiles; Fashion; Underwear; Lace; Women's clothes

Collection code

T&F

Download image
Qr_O15546
Ajax-loader