Apron
1700-1720 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Embroidered silk aprons were a fashionable part of the informal dress of aristocratic and gentry women. Unlike the protective, plain linen aprons worn by servants for housework, these lavishly decorative examples symbolised a gentlewoman’s skill in supervising a large household. The cornucopia or horn of plenty, signifying this domestic prowess, was a popular motif for embroidered aprons.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Silk, silver, gold; hand-woven, hand-embroidered |
| Brief description | Woman's apron of ivory silk taffeta, 1700-20, English; embroidered with coloured silks and silver-gilt threads |
| Physical description | Woman’s apron of ivory silk taffeta embroidered with coloured silk twist in satin, long and short stitches and couched with silver-gilt filé, strip, purl and spangles. It is worked in a pattern of large flowers and leaves springing from ornate vases and cornucopia. There are borders for 2 pocket openings that have been cut and bound, then later stitched closed. The waistband was removed and a border of wide silver-gilt bobbin lace was added later; now removed to display the apron as originally made. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by Mrs Alec-Tweedie (per Miss J. Goodbody) |
| Summary | Embroidered silk aprons were a fashionable part of the informal dress of aristocratic and gentry women. Unlike the protective, plain linen aprons worn by servants for housework, these lavishly decorative examples symbolised a gentlewoman’s skill in supervising a large household. The cornucopia or horn of plenty, signifying this domestic prowess, was a popular motif for embroidered aprons. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.19-1940 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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