Ensemble
A late 19th-century woman's ensemble with wide red sleeve ends and a three-tiered apron hung with red wool fringe; the record lists nine pieces. Full commentary ↓
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Ensemble is a textile by an unknown maker (late 19th century) in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It measures 124.5 cm.
In the pictureOver a long cream cotton garment, red sleeves, a belt and an apron are layered. On either side of the neck opening is a rectangular panel embroidered with yellow, red and green stripes. The sleeves, covered in red fabric along the whole arm, flare wide and end in hanging red fringe. Around the waist is a red belt with a metallic scrolling vine pattern, and below it the apron, with three overlapping tiers of red wool fringe, falls to below the knees. At the very bottom the cream skirt shows, and the edge of the neck opening is finished with red thread.
BackgroundAccording to the Met's record, this ensemble consists of nine pieces, a through i. A long garment with a hem width of 177.8 cm, another garment with a front length of 96.5 cm, an apron of 69.9 cm including fringe, an 86.4 cm square cloth, a pair 61 cm long, a pair of shoes with a foot length of 26.7 cm and a 193 cm sash are each listed with their measurements. Wood is among the materials, but which part it belongs to is not stated. The place-of-origin field is empty, so seeing it as Balkan is an inference drawn from the form of the fringed apron and red sleeves. It was given in 1947 by Mrs. Everett Tutchings.
Puzzle tipRed and cream divide the picture broadly. Fit the two yellow-striped panels at the neck and the metallic vine pattern of the belt first, and you have reference lines for top and bottom. The fringe pieces resemble one another, but each tier ends in a horizontal break, so find those boundaries to separate the three tiers, and tell the fringe at the two sleeve ends apart by their outer outlines. Place the cream skirt pieces using the fine vertical pleats and the hem line. 100 pieces is about right.
- Classification
- Main dress-Womenswear
- Medium
- wool, cotton, wood
- Dimensions
- 124.5 cm
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. Everett Tutchings, 1947
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art ↗
Stories about this work
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