Dress Fabric thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Dress Fabric

1770-1775 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Dress fabric of painted silk on the original wooden roller. Off-white silk ground painted with a fine pattern of honeysuckle, bluebells, acorns and oak leaves with heartsease, all tied with a cord with tasselled ends. At each side is a meandering sprigged stem. On the wooden roller at one end is an original 18th century label with '20 yds T/H 174 Jn'. The length suggests enough for two dress lengths.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Painted silk on the original wooden roller
Brief description
Dress fabric of painted silk, probably made in France, 1770-1775
Physical description
Dress fabric of painted silk on the original wooden roller. Off-white silk ground painted with a fine pattern of honeysuckle, bluebells, acorns and oak leaves with heartsease, all tied with a cord with tasselled ends. At each side is a meandering sprigged stem. On the wooden roller at one end is an original 18th century label with '20 yds T/H 174 Jn'. The length suggests enough for two dress lengths.
Dimensions
  • Length: 255in
  • Length: 647.7cm
  • Width: 23.75in
  • Width: 60.3cm
Marks and inscriptions
'20 yds T/H 174 Jn' (On an original 18th century label)
Object history
Purchased. Registered File number 1986/1217.

The width of the silk (over 0.5 ell wide according to the English ell) is French. Either fashions changed or it was too obviously French since it would, technically, have been illegal to sell it in England at the time. The inscription on the roller suggests that 13 yards had already been sold, perhaps three dress lengths.
Subjects depicted
Collection
Accession number
T.125-1986

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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