Dress
1830-1870 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The side seams of this robe barely extend below the hips. From that point downwards the back and the front panels are separate, revealing the trousers that would have been worn underneath. They also show their own lining, which in this case is an imported European furnishing fabric of blue silk damask.
The silk used for the robe was woven with a fine black floral stripe at wide intervals, and a meandering floral stem has been embroidered in the intervening spaces. This pattern was first printed on the ground fabric with dark ink, which can be seen clearly in several places, and was then embroidered using a tambour hook. The completed length of woven and embroidered silk was then cut into the appropriate pieces for the robe. It has been edged with a metal braid.
Tambour work is only possible if the fabric is held very tightly in a frame. It takes it name from the French word for a drum, because many of the early tambour frames were drum-shaped, and is a quick method of covering the ground with a fine chain-stitch.
The silk used for the robe was woven with a fine black floral stripe at wide intervals, and a meandering floral stem has been embroidered in the intervening spaces. This pattern was first printed on the ground fabric with dark ink, which can be seen clearly in several places, and was then embroidered using a tambour hook. The completed length of woven and embroidered silk was then cut into the appropriate pieces for the robe. It has been edged with a metal braid.
Tambour work is only possible if the fabric is held very tightly in a frame. It takes it name from the French word for a drum, because many of the early tambour frames were drum-shaped, and is a quick method of covering the ground with a fine chain-stitch.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Embroidered silk with silks, silver-gilt braid, lined with silk damask |
| Brief description | Woman's dress (entari) of embroidered silk with silks, Turkey, 1830-1870 |
| Physical description | Woman's dress, known as an entari, of striped silk embroidered with silks in tambour stitch. Long dress cut in one piece and flaring towards the hem. Slit at the sides. Scalloped edges all round except for the round neck. Long narrow sleeves slit from the elbow downwards and with shaped hanging ends. Woven with coloured stripes between narrow stripes of floral stem. In the broad spaces between these series of stripes are drawn wavy stems bearing leaves and flowers. Edged with looped braid of silver-gilt thread. Lined with blue silk damask woven with a design of vases of flowers in shaped circular compartments outlined by fringed curtains tied with bows and tassels. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Mr and Mrs John Makower |
| Summary | The side seams of this robe barely extend below the hips. From that point downwards the back and the front panels are separate, revealing the trousers that would have been worn underneath. They also show their own lining, which in this case is an imported European furnishing fabric of blue silk damask. The silk used for the robe was woven with a fine black floral stripe at wide intervals, and a meandering floral stem has been embroidered in the intervening spaces. This pattern was first printed on the ground fabric with dark ink, which can be seen clearly in several places, and was then embroidered using a tambour hook. The completed length of woven and embroidered silk was then cut into the appropriate pieces for the robe. It has been edged with a metal braid. Tambour work is only possible if the fabric is held very tightly in a frame. It takes it name from the French word for a drum, because many of the early tambour frames were drum-shaped, and is a quick method of covering the ground with a fine chain-stitch. |
| Bibliographic reference | 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. 86 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.197-1964 |
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| Record created | February 5, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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