Bodice, Train and Petticoat
1780s (made), 1870 - 1910 (altered)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A woman's bodice, petticoat and train with detached trimmings of white silk lustring tamboured with small blue and green flowered sprays and border patterns of similar floral sprays in oval cartouches over undulating garlands of the same. The bodice is open at the front with elbow-length sleeves with double, scalloped sleeve ruffles. The back is cut in 4 shaped pieces tapering to a blunt end below the waist. The sleeves are lined with white silk taffeta. The sleeve ruffles, bodice fronts and backs are embroidered to shape, and edged with white silk bobbin lace.
The train is made of 2 widths of silk with a curved end. The waist has an inverted box pleat at centre back and flat pleats at the sides, bound with a linen tape. The train is lined with white silk taffeta. It is embroidered to shape and trimmed with two broad bands of white silk bobbin lace. One, around the edge of the train, has a zig-zag centre of blue silk. The other band of lace, inside the embroidery is trimmed with tambouring in blue and green, cut from a silk ground and sewn to the lace.
The petticoat is made of 5 widths of silk, embroidered all around with a border of white silk lace above the hem, and tamboured swags and figure-of-eight cartouches, edged with silk lace, above it.
The ensemble was probably made as a court mantua in the 1780s and then altered for fancy dress in the late 19th century; the bodice and petticoat sewn together in the style of an 1880s dress. The bodice has since been unpicked and reconstructed by Conservation. The waist facing and cotton tapes were added to the petticoat waist by Conservation. The unpicked trimmings - bands of tambouring, edged with silk bobbin lace and gathered at intervals, appear to be left over from the fancy dress ensemble.
The train is made of 2 widths of silk with a curved end. The waist has an inverted box pleat at centre back and flat pleats at the sides, bound with a linen tape. The train is lined with white silk taffeta. It is embroidered to shape and trimmed with two broad bands of white silk bobbin lace. One, around the edge of the train, has a zig-zag centre of blue silk. The other band of lace, inside the embroidery is trimmed with tambouring in blue and green, cut from a silk ground and sewn to the lace.
The petticoat is made of 5 widths of silk, embroidered all around with a border of white silk lace above the hem, and tamboured swags and figure-of-eight cartouches, edged with silk lace, above it.
The ensemble was probably made as a court mantua in the 1780s and then altered for fancy dress in the late 19th century; the bodice and petticoat sewn together in the style of an 1880s dress. The bodice has since been unpicked and reconstructed by Conservation. The waist facing and cotton tapes were added to the petticoat waist by Conservation. The unpicked trimmings - bands of tambouring, edged with silk bobbin lace and gathered at intervals, appear to be left over from the fancy dress ensemble.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 5 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Silk, silk thread; hand-woven, tamboured, hand-sewn, hand-made bobbin lace |
| Brief description | A woman's bodice, train and petticoat, with detached trimmings, 1780s, British; White silk tamboured with green blue in floral design, trimmed with French 1780s silk bobbin lace. Probably once a mantua, but altered and reconstructed for fancy dress, 1870-1910 |
| Physical description | A woman's bodice, petticoat and train with detached trimmings of white silk lustring tamboured with small blue and green flowered sprays and border patterns of similar floral sprays in oval cartouches over undulating garlands of the same. The bodice is open at the front with elbow-length sleeves with double, scalloped sleeve ruffles. The back is cut in 4 shaped pieces tapering to a blunt end below the waist. The sleeves are lined with white silk taffeta. The sleeve ruffles, bodice fronts and backs are embroidered to shape, and edged with white silk bobbin lace. The train is made of 2 widths of silk with a curved end. The waist has an inverted box pleat at centre back and flat pleats at the sides, bound with a linen tape. The train is lined with white silk taffeta. It is embroidered to shape and trimmed with two broad bands of white silk bobbin lace. One, around the edge of the train, has a zig-zag centre of blue silk. The other band of lace, inside the embroidery is trimmed with tambouring in blue and green, cut from a silk ground and sewn to the lace. The petticoat is made of 5 widths of silk, embroidered all around with a border of white silk lace above the hem, and tamboured swags and figure-of-eight cartouches, edged with silk lace, above it. The ensemble was probably made as a court mantua in the 1780s and then altered for fancy dress in the late 19th century; the bodice and petticoat sewn together in the style of an 1880s dress. The bodice has since been unpicked and reconstructed by Conservation. The waist facing and cotton tapes were added to the petticoat waist by Conservation. The unpicked trimmings - bands of tambouring, edged with silk bobbin lace and gathered at intervals, appear to be left over from the fancy dress ensemble. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Purchased. |
| Historical context | Purchased from Mr M Wechslet. On reciept into the collections, the dress had been remade into the style of the 1880s with a pointed bodice and embroidered muslin insert to the shoulders and bosom. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.79-1963 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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