Waistcoat or Jumps

Date1700-1725

MediumCotton quilted with yellow silk back stitches; cotton lining.

DimensionsOL: 19 1/2" Waist 21 3/8".

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Cora Ginsburg

Object number1991-509

DescriptionGirl's or small woman's sleeveless waistcoat of white cotton, quilted with back stitches in gold color silk in a pattern of slightly scalloped diamonds with interwoven ribbons and daisy-like flowers at the points of the diamonds, with various fillings of scrolls, cross hatchings and flowers. Waistcoat has low neckline with narrow shoulder straps; eight eyelets on each side of the center front for lacing closed, with rounded fronts and side hip panels. Lined with white cotton. Possibly worn with separate stomacher (missing). Edges bound with tabby cotton, probably same fabric as face fabric.
Label TextWoman's or Girl's Waistcoat
England, 1700-1725
Cotton, silk embroidery, and unknown filling
Gift of Cora Ginsburg, 1991-509
Ink outlines for the embroidery and seam lines indicate that this waistcoat was embroidered to the exact shape needed for the finished garment; time-consuming embroidery was not wasted where it was not needed. Quilting and embroidering with pale yellow silk on a white ground was especially fashionable in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. The style originated from imported Indian embroideries that used naturally yellow tussah silk.

Exhibition(s)