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Doublet and Trunk Hose

ca. 1618 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Man’s doublet and trunk hose of oyster-coloured silk satin and an underlayer of blue silk taffeta, both slashed and pinked to reveal a third layer white silk taffeta. The doublet is interlined with linen and lined with a changeable [shot] blue and yellow silk taffeta. It has a 3-inch (7.8 cm) standing collar, 2⅞-inch (7.3 cm) deep shoulder wings, curving 2-piece sleeves and high waistline pointed at the centre front. A narrow woven lace of silver and silver-gilt file is applied in 2 parallel rows over the seams, down the front edges, around the collar and laps. The belly pieces are made of baleen stitched into layers of linen and covered with the blue/yellow silk. There are 8 worked buttonholes on each sleeve and 33 along the left front edge, with 3 button loops of the woven lace on the left side of the collar. The buttons have a wooden core covered with silver and silver-gilt file. At the waist seam inside is a lacing band of linen covered with blue/yellow silk with 40 worked eyelets. On each belly piece is a lacing tab of linen covered with blue/yellow silk and 1 worked eyelet. There is a loop of the woven lace at the waist on the outside of each front, to hold a sword belt.

The trunk hose are made of the same layers of silk and decorated in the same pattern of pinking and slashing, interlined with loosely woven wool and lined with fustian. The trunk hose are very full, gathered into the waistband and into 8 ½ inch (21.5 cm) deep canions below the knee. There is a pocket opening on each front; the pocket bags are leather lined with the blue/yellow silk. The trunk hose fasten with 2 worked eyelet holes on each side at centre front, 38 worked eyelet holes around the waistband, a buttonhole stand with 5 worked buttonholes on the left front and 5 buttons on the right (none remain).


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Trunk Hose
  • Doublet
Materials and techniques
Silk, linen, cotton, wool, baleen, silver, gold; hand-woven, hand-sewn
Brief description
Man's doublet and trunk hose, c.1618, English; White silk satin slashed over blue taffeta, worn by Sir Rowland Cotton
Physical description
Man’s doublet and trunk hose of oyster-coloured silk satin and an underlayer of blue silk taffeta, both slashed and pinked to reveal a third layer white silk taffeta. The doublet is interlined with linen and lined with a changeable [shot] blue and yellow silk taffeta. It has a 3-inch (7.8 cm) standing collar, 2⅞-inch (7.3 cm) deep shoulder wings, curving 2-piece sleeves and high waistline pointed at the centre front. A narrow woven lace of silver and silver-gilt file is applied in 2 parallel rows over the seams, down the front edges, around the collar and laps. The belly pieces are made of baleen stitched into layers of linen and covered with the blue/yellow silk. There are 8 worked buttonholes on each sleeve and 33 along the left front edge, with 3 button loops of the woven lace on the left side of the collar. The buttons have a wooden core covered with silver and silver-gilt file. At the waist seam inside is a lacing band of linen covered with blue/yellow silk with 40 worked eyelets. On each belly piece is a lacing tab of linen covered with blue/yellow silk and 1 worked eyelet. There is a loop of the woven lace at the waist on the outside of each front, to hold a sword belt.

The trunk hose are made of the same layers of silk and decorated in the same pattern of pinking and slashing, interlined with loosely woven wool and lined with fustian. The trunk hose are very full, gathered into the waistband and into 8 ½ inch (21.5 cm) deep canions below the knee. There is a pocket opening on each front; the pocket bags are leather lined with the blue/yellow silk. The trunk hose fasten with 2 worked eyelet holes on each side at centre front, 38 worked eyelet holes around the waistband, a buttonhole stand with 5 worked buttonholes on the left front and 5 buttons on the right (none remain).
Dimensions
  • Doublet, overall length: 68.5cm (approx)
  • Doublet, chest under armholes circumference: 103.5cm (approx)
  • Trunk hose, overall length: 94.0cm (approx)
  • Trunk hose, waist circumference: 94.5cm (approx)
Credit line
Given by Lady Spickernell
Object history
Worn by Sir Rowland Cotton (1581-1634) and depicted in the portrait of him painted by Paul van Somer.
Bibliographic references
  • A Seventeenth-Century Doublet from Scotland By Susan Payne, David Wilcox, Tuula Pardoe and Ninya Mikhaila Costume, vol 45, 2011, pp.39-62 This fully documents a comparable doublet in Perth Museum.
  • J. Arnold, 1973, Sir Richard Cotton's Suit, in Burlington Magazine, p.326.
  • Melanie Braun, ‘Sir Rowland Cotton’s Suit’, in 17th-Century Men’s Dress Patterns, 1600-1630, by Melanie Braun et al. Thames & Hudson and V&A Museum, 2016, pp.48-79. A pattern, photographs and construction information
  • The Weiss Gallery, Facing History: Northern European Portraiture 1570-1735, 2019, no.22 'Paul van Somer - Sir Rowland Cotton', pp.96-99.
  • Miller, Lesley Ellis, and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, with Claire Allen-Johnstone, eds. Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2021. ISBN 978-0-500-48065-6. This object features in the publication Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion (2021)
Collection
Accession number
T.28&A-1938

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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