Skip to main content
2009 Record shot by L. Baumgarten. Petticoat.
Petticoat
2009 Record shot by L. Baumgarten. Petticoat.

Petticoat

Date1740-1770, altered later
OriginEurope
MediumSilk twill, silk embroidery, cotton block-printed lining.
DimensionsWaist: 26 1/4" Length: 34" including waistband. Printed lining 15" up from hem.
Credit LineGift of Anonymous Donors
Object number1971-1563
DescriptionWoman's petticoat made from grayish-beige silk twill with elaborate border, about 16 inches deep, embroidered in bright polychrome silks. Embroidered design consists of triangular frameworks of flowering vines with a bird perched on top of each triangle. Each triangle encloses a different bouquet of flowers. Embroidery is elaborately and realistically shaded. The entire embroidered border area is backed with red, greenish-brown and brownish-black block-printed cotton in a design of curving branches on a ground patterned with a small repeated leaf motif. The hem is bound with glazed green cotton edging, added later. The skirt is pleated and stitched at the waist and attached to a linen waistband. The waistline treatment is a later alteration.
ProvenanceEx Coll: Mrs. DeWitt Clinton Cohen.