Coat
Date1790-1820
OriginEurope, France
MediumDeep purple-blue silk voided cut velvet embroidered with silk; lined with twilled silk in body and sleeves; woven tabby wool innerfacing; cotton batting chest padding; tabby cotton pockets.
DimensionsOL: center back 39"; standing collar: 3 5/8"; cuffs: 3 3/4"
Credit LineGift of Mr. Mark Clark
Object number1971-433
DescriptionMan's coat of dark blue lozenge diaper-patterned silk velvet, embroidered with silks in mauves, yellow, orange, red, blues, light to dark olive greens, black, and ivory. Embroidery pattern of seminaturalistic flowers and beaded edging following the outlines of the collar, the cutaway fronts, the back vent, pockets, and cuffs. Coat has high standing collar. The sharp front curve of the breast of the coat is fastened together with 3 metal hooks and eyes. Eyelets worked into fronts are intended for installing buttons, which do not survive. Three embroidered buttonholes on coat front are not cut open or functional. Sleeves cut to curve over elbows, ending in embroidered cuffs. Coat is lined with ivory silk in twill weave. Chest upper section is padded and quilted.Label TextEighteenth-century formal suits were often masterpieces of the embroiderer's art. This suit coat of rich blue cut and voided silk velvet is strewn with colorful flowers that are beautifully designed and worked with great skill. The coordinating waistcoat has the same flowers worked on a white ground.
The donor recalls that his grandmother kept a collection of clothing, purchased from local Dayton, Ohio, auctions, in the attic for her grandchildren to use when dressing up in costume. The breeches to this suit were ruined during a Halloween foray into a nearby farmer's melon field. The farmer shot rock salt into the seat of the retreating 12-year-old grandson.
