Description:
Man's embroidered, sleeveless waistcoat embroidered with small, polychrome floral sprays and silver gilt thread on white before the cloth was cut to make the garment, which came from the Bass/Taylor Estate in Warwick, Massachusetts. Stylistically, it falls into the first half of the 1780s, which was a time of great upheaval. Even though relations with England were strained during this period just after the Revolution, elegant fashions such as this waistcoat were still imported and worn by the wealthy. It is likely that this waistcoat was embroidered in England, and was intended for evening wear because of the use of metallic elements in the trimming.

Subjects:
Textile fabrics; Embroidery; Linen; polychrome; Silk

Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2001.35

Research on objects in the collections, including provenance, is ongoing and may be incomplete. If you have additional information or would like to learn more about a particular object, please email fc-museums-web@fivecolleges.edu.