Silk gauze scarf, England, ca. 1810 - ca. 1830

Blue silk gauze scarf woven with blue, white and yellow silk, and edged with a sparse blue knotted fringe. Each end has a row of four flame-like plants, white fronds arising from a yellow cup on a yellow stalk. The rest of the length contains stripes of small four-pronged motifs. The thin silk fringe is knotted into either end.

Bequeathed by Estella Canziani

RF number is 1965/1464.

A typed note dated 7th September 1984 and written by Miss Margaret Stone provides the following information about the scarf:

'The frieze is almost certainly a design of DRYANDRA LONGIFOLIA, introduced from South-West Australia by Robert Brown in 1805. I believe Ferdinand Bauer made a drawing of it in the years following the voyage. It flowered at Kew in 1813 and was illustrated in Curtis's Botanical Magazine, Vol 38 (1913), Tab 1582. The designer may have used living material; the flowers are not fugative. It was probably growing in many good gardens at that time.'

Long, rectangular scarves were a popular fashion accessory in the early 19th century. They enhanced the slender lines of the high waisted muslin gowns they were worn with. This example, in delicate silk gauze, would have been more for show than warmth. A design in rich yellow and white silk has been woven into the sheer fabric.

T.291-1965