Description:
Plain weave cream silk gown with stomacher and petticoat, made and painted in China with scrolling, flowering branches in red, blue, green, brown, yellow, and silver, and probably assembled in England. Much of China's silk production found its way to the West, especially England. The English East India Company purchased large quantities of raw silk for their weavers at Spitalfields and elsewhere, and also auctioned finished silks in London, ostensibly for sale out of the country. An act passed in 1700 to protect the English silk industry required that "all wrought silks of Persia, China or East India which are imported into this kingdom shall not be worn or otherwise used in Great Britain." Although this law prohibited the use of Chinese silks in England, the fabric was often smuggled back into the country or re-exported to Europe, the West Indies, and America. This gown is called a 'robe à l'anglaise,' which consisted of a bodice cut in one piece with an overskirt parted in front to reveal a matching petticoat. Its fitted bodice, consisting of stitched down pleats, did not have the free-flowing center back pleats that typified the equally popular style of the 'robe à la française.' The dress, petticoat, and stomacher are trimmed in fly fringe and pleated ruchings. Chinese silks differed from European examples. Chinese looms tended to be wider than Western versions; widths from selvage to selvage ranged from 28 to 32 inches while western silks usually measured 19 to 23 inches wide. In this example, the selvage width is about 29.25". Chinese silk selvage edges are also distinctive, using contrasting colors, and at times contrasting weaves, to that of the fabric's ground color. This dress's fabric has a yellow selvage edge that contrasts with the cream-colored silk. Unlike their European counterparts, Chinese silks also tend to be very soft, supple, and lightweight.
Subjects:
Silk; polychrome; Textile fabrics Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.287 |
