Description:
Man's sleeveless, whitework linen (identified by eye) waistcoat with two hip-level pocket flaps, linen lining, and a cotton back, which is quilted to shape with linen thread with intricately corded designs. The fashion fabric may be an English linen, professionaly quilted for a middle market. The front of the waistcoat closes with 14 wire and thread-work buttons, hidden under a placket in a construction feature known as a French closure. Made for a large man, the long length of the garment suggests a fabrication date during the second quarter of the 18th century. Teachers of fancy needlework skills in the early 18th century sometimes offered "French" quilting. As seen on this waistcoat, this technique was traditionally done in white and was most commonly used on clothing items. It combines intricately corded designs with stuffed work and embroidery. It was a specialty of France, which exported finished garments, bed quilts and yardage through the port of Marseilles, thus giving this type of quilting the name "marseilles." England and India also made a significant amount of marseilles-type quilting for export.
Subjects:
Linen; Cotton; Textile fabrics Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.075 |
