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Not currently on display at the V&A

Blouse

Blouse
1830-1870 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The cool climate of northern Europe makes wearing clothes that fit the body snugly at the wrist and neck almost a necessity to retain body heat. This high stand-up collar was made from two thicknesses of cloth, embroidered with wool in small and closely packed cross stitch, creating a substantial fabric with a fair degree of rigidity. It would have been secured with a piece of silver jewellery inserted through the two loops. Not only would the wearer's neck and shoulders have been kept warm, but the height of the collar would have required her to maintain her head in an elegant, upright posture.

It is difficult to achieve a sharp, crisp edge at the bottom of a neck slit such as this. As the fabric is turned under and secured, there is a tendency for the slit to widen into a curve. In order to disguise this and to reinforce the part most vulnerable to tearing, a few interlacing stitches have been worked with blue wool.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleBlouse
Materials and techniques
Cotton, with linen sleeves, embroidered with wool
Brief description
Blouse, linen, cotton embroidered in wool and silk, Norway (Telemark), c.1800-1884.
Physical description
Woman's blouse of cotton with unbleached linen sleeves. The collar and cuffs are embroidered in tent and cross stitch with coloured wools, depicting a close pattern of stars, squares and other geometrical forms arranged symmetrically. To the front, repeated floral forms are worked in satin, chain and short stitches using predominantly red, green and pale blue coloured wools.

The generously proportioned sleeves remain loose until the wrist, where the fabric is gathered into an embroidered cuff. The high, square collar surmounts a deep keyhole at the chest, framed by floral embroidery.
Dimensions
  • Width: 1638mm (Note: historical measurements taken from green books)
  • Length: 432mm (Note: historical measurements taken from green books)
Measurements have been taken from historic records and have not been checked.
Credit line
Given by the Directors of the Museum of Art Industry, Christiania
Object history
Given by the Directors of the Museum of Art Industry, Christiania along with objects 786 to 825-1884. The register states that these objects were received in the course of "international exchange".
Subjects depicted
Place depicted
Associations
Summary
The cool climate of northern Europe makes wearing clothes that fit the body snugly at the wrist and neck almost a necessity to retain body heat. This high stand-up collar was made from two thicknesses of cloth, embroidered with wool in small and closely packed cross stitch, creating a substantial fabric with a fair degree of rigidity. It would have been secured with a piece of silver jewellery inserted through the two loops. Not only would the wearer's neck and shoulders have been kept warm, but the height of the collar would have required her to maintain her head in an elegant, upright posture.

It is difficult to achieve a sharp, crisp edge at the bottom of a neck slit such as this. As the fabric is turned under and secured, there is a tendency for the slit to widen into a curve. In order to disguise this and to reinforce the part most vulnerable to tearing, a few interlacing stitches have been worked with blue wool.
Bibliographic reference
Dress in Detail from Around the World by Rosemary Crill, Jennifer Wearden and Verity Wilson, V&A Publications, 2002 p. 20
Collection
Accession number
797-1884

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Record createdDecember 30, 2003
Record URL
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