Images(3)

Gown, Italian Gown

Date1780-1790

OriginAsia, India (textile) and England (gown)

MediumCotton, mordant-painted and dyed; linen bodice and sleeve linings; boning.

DimensionsGown: OL: 52" front; 67 1/2" back Waist 24 1/2" Textile selvage-to-selvage width: 42 3/4"; vertical pattern repeat 8 1/2" Skirt length is about 56" from back waistline. Skirt is constructed of four panels to create a fullness of about 119 1/4"; without seam allowances the panels measure 17 3/4"+ 41 3/4"+ 42 1/8"+ 17 5/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1947-511

DescriptionWoman's gown of striped floral India chintz in reds, browns, and indigo blue. Gown has tight fitting bodice with center front edge-to-edge closure, ending in points at waist front and back. Bodice has a hidden boned eyelet strip for lacing at center front and four channels for boning down center back (2 bones survive).The low, slightly squared neckline has a drawstring across the front. One-inch strips were added to the top of the bodice at a later date to raise the low decolletage. Plain fitted sleeves are curved to shape over the elbows and are cut with the textile design going around the arm.The unlined skirt is full and long, curving up at the fronts and ending with a narrow hem. The skirt could have been worn draped up, though no evidence of ties or a ring drawstring mechanism survives. Bodice and sleeves are lined with linen.
Textile: the striped pattern is one of undulating arborescent stems bearing leaves and carnation buds and blossoms framed by narrow scalloped bands in red and brown dots to simulate ribbon-lace. Each floral-lace pattern unit is separated from the next by a wide band of red, blue, tan stripes overlaid with zigzag floral chain and sprigs in blue. The cotton has a glazed finish.

Construction History:

1. 1780-1790: Initial construction
2. July 2, 1954: Repairs and restoration by Ernest LoNano for the Margaret Hunter Shop
Label TextThis gown was made from fashionable imported India chintz cotton, valued for its brilliant colors and washability. The styling reflects the era of the 1780s with its fitted, front-closing bodice and deep neckline often worn with a puffy kerchief. (The low neckline was later raised by the addition of strips of fabric stitched across the top.) The excessive skirt length suggests that the gown was worn trained or else intended to be drawn-up in a draped fashion. (No internal evidence for the drapery effect remains, however.)