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Not currently on display at the V&A

Blouse

Blouse
1800-1900 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

In this blouse, four very different embroidery techniques have been combined in the small area across the width of one shoulder. A band of zigzagging lines stitched in white linen on a background of red silk runs along the ridge of the shoulder and extends around it. Either side of the shoulder ridge are panels in which only the background has been embroidered, leaving the pattern in reverse - the plain white cloth of the blouse forming small flowers. Below these panels are isolated motifs embroidered with thick silk thread. Around the top of the sleeve are tiny gathers, which are held in place by pink silk threads that are visible only when the gathers are gently teased apart. Thick red silk has been used to embroider a pointed design directly on top of the gathers, to ensure that they stay in place. The upward-pointing gathers and the downward-pointing embroidery also form an interesting pattern.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleBlouse
Materials and techniques
Linen, embroidered with silk and linen
Brief description
Blouse, linen, silk, embroidered, Spain, 1800s
Physical description
Woman's blouse, linen embroidered with silk and linen
Credit line
Given by Mrs Willoughby Hodgson
Summary
In this blouse, four very different embroidery techniques have been combined in the small area across the width of one shoulder. A band of zigzagging lines stitched in white linen on a background of red silk runs along the ridge of the shoulder and extends around it. Either side of the shoulder ridge are panels in which only the background has been embroidered, leaving the pattern in reverse - the plain white cloth of the blouse forming small flowers. Below these panels are isolated motifs embroidered with thick silk thread. Around the top of the sleeve are tiny gathers, which are held in place by pink silk threads that are visible only when the gathers are gently teased apart. Thick red silk has been used to embroider a pointed design directly on top of the gathers, to ensure that they stay in place. The upward-pointing gathers and the downward-pointing embroidery also form an interesting pattern.
Bibliographic references
  • Crill, Rosemary, Jennifer Wearden and Verity Wilson. Dress in Detail from Around the World. London: V&A Publications, 2002. 224 p., ill. ISBN 09781851773787. p. 160
  • A note in the Registered Papers pertaining to blouse 855-1905 notes that such garments are "worn by the unmarried Andalusian women at certain religious festivals - they are only used a few times in a lifetime, and are handed down through many generations" - Mr Trendell, 20th June 1918.
Collection
Accession number
T.205-1916

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Record createdFebruary 9, 2004
Record URL
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