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Doublet

1600-1610 (made), 1870-1895 (altered)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Man’s doublet of green silk uncut and voided velvet woven in a pattern of horizontal bands of wavy lines alternating with floral sprigs. The doublet is reinforced with baleen and stiffened canvas, padded and quilted with wool and lined with changeable (shot) green and yellow silk taffeta. It has narrow shoulder wings and curving 2-piece sleeves. Green silk and silver-gilt woven lace, ¼-inch (5 mm) wide, edges the front opening and decorates the shoulder wings. There are 32 worked buttonholes down the left front and seven on each sleeve, fastened with ⅜-inch (7 mm) diameter buttons of green silk and silver-gilt filè, only 18 remain. The waist is bound with 1-inch (2.5 cm) green silk grosgrain ribbon, which also forms the belt loops. Five eyelets were worked in each lap, except the two at centre front, which have one. There is a lacing loop of green silk inside each front at the waistline.

The doublet was altered, probably in the late 19th century for fancy dress. It originally had a ‘grown-on’ collar (cut in one piece with the back), which was removed and the neck edge coarsely stitched closed. There were 13 laps at the waist originally; one at the right front is now missing.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silk, wool, linen, silver, gold; hand-weaving, velvet weave, silver-gilt lace, hand-sewn
Brief description
Man's doublet, 1600-10, English; Green velvet, Italian, altered 1870-1895
Physical description
Man’s doublet of green silk uncut and voided velvet woven in a pattern of horizontal bands of wavy lines alternating with floral sprigs. The doublet is reinforced with baleen and stiffened canvas, padded and quilted with wool and lined with changeable (shot) green and yellow silk taffeta. It has narrow shoulder wings and curving 2-piece sleeves. Green silk and silver-gilt woven lace, ¼-inch (5 mm) wide, edges the front opening and decorates the shoulder wings. There are 32 worked buttonholes down the left front and seven on each sleeve, fastened with ⅜-inch (7 mm) diameter buttons of green silk and silver-gilt filè, only 18 remain. The waist is bound with 1-inch (2.5 cm) green silk grosgrain ribbon, which also forms the belt loops. Five eyelets were worked in each lap, except the two at centre front, which have one. There is a lacing loop of green silk inside each front at the waistline.

The doublet was altered, probably in the late 19th century for fancy dress. It originally had a ‘grown-on’ collar (cut in one piece with the back), which was removed and the neck edge coarsely stitched closed. There were 13 laps at the waist originally; one at the right front is now missing.
Dimensions
  • Right shoulder to lower edge centre front length: 61.0cm (approx)
  • Chest under armholes circumference: 112.0cm (approx)
Object history
Isham collection
Bibliographic reference
Claire Thornton, ‘Green silk velvet doublet, in 17th-Century Men’s Dress Patterns, 1600-1630, by Melanie Braun et al. Thames & Hudson and V&A Museum, 2016, pp.26-47
Collection
Accession number
183-1900

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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