Description:
Cotton whitework petticoat quilted with a diamond trellis with scattered leaves in center and a border design of a grapevine in a serpentine pattern. The petticoat is cartridge-pleated to a linen tape, which is folded over and stitched to the back and the tape extending into ties; the bottom edge is double hemmed; and the lining is a plain white cotton of slightly coarser grade. After falling out of fashion in the early 19th century because their bulk spoiled the slender lines of clingy muslin dresses, quilted petticoats returned in the second quarter of the century when dress skirts once again became full. These petticoats helped hold the dress out in the fashionable bell shape and kept the wearer warm. Even though hidden, they were often quilted in lovely designs - this example is particularly elaborate. The textile was probably made in France, possibly in the region of Provence where this kind of work was still being done in the early years of the 21st century; and the petticoat was made in either France or American (probably New England). The seller, Ginsburg & Levy Inc., stated that this petticoat was exhibited at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC in 1912 (nos. L2877.12, L1351.1 and L2284 on an inside tab); and Harbeson's "American Needlework: the History of Decorative Stitchery and Embroidery from the late 16th to the 20th century" pictures the petticoat with an 18th century gown and describes it as "Quilted skirt, early 18th century, American, Mrs. De Witt Clinton Cohen loan to the Museum of the City of New York." As early as the 1720s, quilted petticoats were an important component of many women's wardrobes. In addition to providing added warmth, the materials and quilting patterns they displayed served as decorative embellishment to the wearer's apparel. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the bulkiness of these kinds of petticoats fell out of favor as dress styles became streamlined. With the increase in skirt width beginning by the 1820s, quilted petticoats reappeared, as evidenced by this example.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.076 |
