Vest

In the pictureIn front of a gray background, a leather vest is dressed on each of two black mannequins. The left vest has a body of reddish-brown leather with a fine vertical grain, edged in curly white fleece at the neckline, front opening and hem, and it closes at the front with four rows of orange cord loops and round knot buttons. On the upper chest, yellow and magenta leather is cut into teardrop and flower shapes and applied, and above the hem runs a wavy band of green leather. The right vest is on a mannequin topped with a brass knob; its front is open, so the fleece-lined front edges fold back on both sides, and the yellow leather panels beyond them are decorated with magenta teardrops and round yellow motifs. Knotwork of twisted red cord runs down along the front edges and ends in large pinecone-shaped tassels, and at the pocket area below, horizontal lines stitched in green and yellow thread are packed close together.

BackgroundThe Metropolitan Museum has two entries that use this photograph: a vest with a back length of 38.1 cm (2009.300.610) and one of 48.3 cm (2009.300.612). Both are leather and wool, date to the late 19th century and are classified as children's clothing. The photo's file name carries both accession numbers, but the record does not say which vest is which. Since their lengths differ by a little over 10 cm, they may have belonged to two children of different ages. Sheepskin vests with the fleece inside and cut colored leather applied to the outside are said to be a form found in the folk dress of the Hungary and Slovakia area, and both come from the Brooklyn Museum's 1920–21 collecting expedition.

Puzzle tipThe two vests divide left and right, and the white fleece trim draws the outline of each. For the left vest, the vertical fleece band in the center and the four horizontal rows of orange cord loops are the guides; for the right vest, the magenta teardrops on the yellow leather panels and the two pinecone-shaped tassels hanging down are the guides. The brass knob on top of the right mannequin marks the upper center. The black mannequins spread wider than the vests, so fill them in after finishing the vests, and finish with the gray background. 100 pieces is about right.