Description:
Woman's cotton jacket decorated with a block-printed design of scrollling vines with flowers, buds, and leaves in blue, red, green, yellow and brown on a white ground (the yellow and green colors are largely faded). The blue (indigo) was likely painted on, as was the green (blue overpainted onto yellow). The garment is a rare example of more utilitarian women's clothing, and its fabric reflects the fruition of European textile printers' efforts to compete with superior Indian-decorated cottons. The jacket is constructed with a rounded neck cut low in front; is laced down the front using eight overcast eyelets on each side. The garment terminates in a hip- length peplum skirt flaring out over the hips. It's sleeves are fitted and terminate at the crook of the elbow. The jacket is lined in four different fabrics: the main body and sleeves are lined in a coarse off-white linen; the peplum and front tabs are lined with a tan tightly-woven cotton; the right sleeve cuff is a tan cotton; and the left sleeve cuff is a white and blue striped linen. Fitted jackets worn with separate petticoats were practical and comfortable for work and informal occasions, and often worn by women of moderate means. They were more economical than gowns because they did not require full overskirts with yards of fabric. This jacket was either laced over a triangular stomacher, now missing, or worn with a large kerchief that filled in the front.
Label Text:
By the end of the eighteenth century, English and European printers competed with superior Indian-decorated cottons. While their advances did not rival the artistry and detail of the originals (variously known as chintz and calico), Western imitations were produced cheaply, efficiently, and in large quantities. Perhaps originally a gown, this garment was altered into a more informal and practical jacket as the fabric became dated or worn. While the design is largely block printed, the blue elements (and those originally green through layering blue and yellow) resulted from hand painting (or penciling) indigo, a technique developed in the 1740s.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+F.396 |
