Length

Unknown

18th century · Silk and metal thread · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This French dress silk is a complex combination of textures and colors: silver and gold streamers and floral garlands meander across a background that features a brilliant green pattern of a small flowering vine. The textile employs six different metal-wrapped threads, plus twelve colors of silk. The layering of side-by-side streamers with floral sprays and garlands is typical of the 1760s, and the formula was used repeatedly with variations depicting ribbon, lace, or fur. Velvetlike chenille thread was sometimes used instead of metal thread. When made up into a woman's robe, the textile would have been further embellished with coordinating trim at the front opening of the gown and lace at the neck and sleeves. Trimmings and lace accessories added to the profusion of texture and the play of shiny and dull surfaces.

Artist

Unknown

Date

18th century

Medium

Silk and metal thread

Culture

French

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1969