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Pincushion

late 19th century (made)

Pincushion covered with metal and silk brocade with a leaf pattern and flowers embroidered in coloured silks.


Object details

Object type
Materials and techniques
Silk and metal brocade with silk embroidery
Brief description
Pincushion used by the ballerina Marie Taglioni (1804-1884). Metal and silk brocade with silk embroidery.
Physical description
Pincushion covered with metal and silk brocade with a leaf pattern and flowers embroidered in coloured silks.
Dimensions
  • Width: 85mm
  • Depth: 60mm
  • At 'waist' circumference: 130mm
Credit line
Cyril W. Beaumont Bequest
Object history
The pincushion is part of a unique collection of memorabilia and personal effects which evoke Marie Taglioni in the last decades of her life. She was a keen needlewoman and the collection contains both examples of her own work and her personal sewing accessories. The pincusion was possibly made by Taglioni.
A collection of Taglioni memorabilia was amassed by Margaret Rolfe, the granddaughter of Taglioni's closest friend in London, Mrs Boggs Rolfe; she attended Taglioni's dancing classes and received many gifts of Taglioni memorabilia, from Taglioni herself, from her grandmother and, after Taglioni's death, from her niece, Marguerite Troubetzkoi. She kept these, with a series of related notes, in various boxes and annotated envelopes (filed separately). These she passed to Cyril Beaumont, probably for the London Archives of the Dance (a number of the objects were referred to in "The London Archives of the Dance and some of its Treasures" by Cyril Beaumont, Ballet Annual, first issue, Adam & Charles Black, London, 1947, p110); the Archives never achieved an independent home and part of the collection, including the Taglioni memorabilia, was stored with Cyril Beaumont, where it became inextricably mixed with his own collection and came to the Museum as part of the Cyril Beaumont Bequest.
Association
Collection
Accession number
S.832-2001

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Record createdDecember 10, 2001
Record URL
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