Toreador suit

In the pictureA white mannequin stands at an angle. The pale green silk jacket, waistcoat and knee breeches are almost entirely covered in round floral motifs worked in gold thread, with a small piece of red glass set in the center of each. On the shoulder at the right of the picture sits an epaulet of gold thread built up in a rounded mound, and rows of clover-shaped gold knots run along the chest and sleeve ends. The side seams of the breeches carry bands of gold thread, the pale green cloth shows at the center front, and gold tassels hang below the knees. A few stains remain on the pale green cloth at the front of the breeches.

BackgroundAs the accession number 2009.300.115a–c shows, it is a three-part suit; the jacket measures 45.7 cm at center back, and the materials are listed as silk, metal and glass. A short jacket, close-fitting knee breeches and gold-thread ornament are the basic form of the 19th-century bullfighter's suit, and compared with the other bullfighter's garments on this site, the pale green ground is unusually rare. Unlike a bullfighter's jacket with thread embroidery on ivory silk, this suit shows more gold thread than ground. Adele Simpson gave it to the Brooklyn Museum in 1945, and it came to the Met in 2009 when Brooklyn's costume collection was transferred.

Puzzle tipMost pieces mix pale green and gold, so find positions by the size of the motifs rather than by color. Fit the round gold epaulet on the shoulder, the row of clover knots on the chest and the gold tassels below the knees first. The pale green vertical strip without gold thread at the front of the breeches shows where the legs are, and the white legs and hands stand out easily from the gray background. The rounded outline of the right epaulet meets the background, making its edge pieces easy to find. 48 pieces work well.