This design was created by Jules Helleu, possibly for Charles Frederick Worth. A relatively simple grey satin dress has been trimmed with orange striped and pleated sashes and a large apron, creating a effect heavily influenced by ancient Egyptian art, a theme Helleu also tackled with E.22059-1957. The enormous appliqué of an Egyptian pharaoh's head in a nemes headdress on the apron makes explicit the source of inspiration for this costume. As with E.22059-1957, Helleu also designed a nemes-influenced headdress with a peacock's head and tail, and has suggested that the wearer wear her hair in thick ringlets to suggest the wigs seen in ancient Egyptian portrayals of women, although the full-skirted, small-waisted crinoline silhouette of the dress is totally contemporary to the mid-1860s when this design was made.

During the 1860s, Empress Eugenie of France threw a number of extravagant masquerade balls which required the guests to wear elaborate and inventive costumes that were made up by Worth and other Paris dressmakers. Worth, a relative newcomer, became the Empress's favoured couturier at the end of the 1850s. This made him extremely fashionable, and the rest of the ladies of Eugenie's court also bought gowns from him - and so too did their husbands' mistresses, and anyone wealthy enough to afford Worth's very high prices. As a result, Worth was under great pressure to produce vast numbers of unique, one of a kind costumes and gowns, often at very short notice. This is one of a large number of similar designs and sketches that were given to the V&A as part of the archive and reference collection of the House of Worth, making it extremely likely that it was originally designed for a guest to wear to one of the Empress's magnificent balls.