Dress Fabric
1725-1730 (made)
| Artist/Maker |
This fabric, a brocaded silk, was part of the petticoat from a lady's gown. Its design is typical of fashionable silks worn in the1720s. The type of pattern repeat used was known as a point repeat, in which the pattern appeared in mirror image to either side of a central axis. This gave quite a formal effect to the pattern, but the overall effect could be lightened with delicate drawing of the individual motifs. In this case a trailling pattern resembling lace has been included. A lady at Court in the period, Mrs Delaney, described a dress she wore in 1729 as having "a running pattern like lace in the ground".
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Brocaded silk |
| Brief description | Green and white silk dress fabric brocaded in colours, 1720s |
| Physical description | The silk has a green ground with main pattern created by supplementary weft of white silk, bound in twill, and 7 further colours brocaded. Pattern is dominated by stylised urn with flowers, in point repeat, enclosed with lace-like trails. The silk is a loom width, and slightly more than two repeats in length. It appears to have been part of a petticoat, with the lower edge damaged as if trodden down at hem level, and the sides turned under at the selvedges, with remaining traces of stitching threads. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Judy Wentworth |
| Object history | Registered File number 1996/275. |
| Summary | This fabric, a brocaded silk, was part of the petticoat from a lady's gown. Its design is typical of fashionable silks worn in the1720s. The type of pattern repeat used was known as a point repeat, in which the pattern appeared in mirror image to either side of a central axis. This gave quite a formal effect to the pattern, but the overall effect could be lightened with delicate drawing of the individual motifs. In this case a trailling pattern resembling lace has been included. A lady at Court in the period, Mrs Delaney, described a dress she wore in 1729 as having "a running pattern like lace in the ground". |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.48-1996 |
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| Record created | December 30, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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