Waistcoat
Date1740-1770
MediumSilk, gold, silver, linen, wood
DimensionsChest: 35 inches
Waist: 24 inches
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number2023-10
DescriptionWaistcoat originally made in the 1740s and updated in the 1770s, made from a silk, gold, and silver textile brocaded with floral bouquets in small urns along with other geometric designs. The garment is lined throughout with an off-white linen. Each of the buttons is carefully worked with silver bullion, threads, and narrow plate. The upper portion of the side seam has been heavily pieced or reworked, however the lining does not show this, suggesting that the garment was fully relined at the time it was updated. Originally the pocket flaps hat 5 buttonholes, but 2 have been carefully picked out and removed. Likewise, this waistcoat had buttons from neck to hem, but when updated they removed the holes and buttons below the waist/pocket flap line. Construction History:
1) Initial Construction, ca. 1740. Pocket flaps had 5 closed work buttonholes and the fronts had buttons and buttonholes from neck to hem.
2) Second Phase, ca. 1770. Removing extra buttonholes and buttons down center front and flaps. Garment was probably fully relined in the off-white linen.
Label TextMen and women in the 18th century frequently remade or updated clothing from earlier fashions to more current trends. This waistcoat was initally made in the 1740s, but was altered by removing buttons and buttonholes below the waist of the garment and on the pocket flaps. Fabric was the expense in this waistcoat, not the time or labor to alter it for the next generation to wear and enjoy.
Provenance?-2023 [Leyla LeBeurrier-Ahi, St. Ouen, France]; 2023-present, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA)
