Yesterday, Friday
27 July, I spent an extremely interesting afternoon at the Fashion Museum
in Bath. Several weeks ago I emailed Elaine Uttley to
book an appointment and Elaine kindly got two ladies bodices out and a
gentleman’s shirt for me to look at.
The aim of my
visit was to look at blackwork and I must say I was enthralled by what I was
shown. It is only when you get the
magnifying glass out that you can see the detail of the extremely fine work. I am calling one bodice a Star bodice and the
other a Vine bodice to help identify them.
On arrival I was
asked to put my bag in a locker and was only allowed my camera, my sketch pad,
my magnifying glass and a pencil in the work room. Elaine started off by explaining how
everything is kept in special boxes to conserve the pieces and I was given a
pair of white gloves to wear and told I could touch the garments.
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| Elaine packing the bodices in box |
Both of the
bodices had the date range of 1580–1620 and the shirt was 1600 -1610. Both the bodices were constructed in a
similar way with triangular shape inserts at the waistline. The insides of the sleeves were open and
Elaine explained that this was for a chemise to show through. There
was a turned cuff on what I call the Vine Bodice and my photo shows the
sleeve blackwork from the front but the cuff embroidery is on the back. I was
amazed by the construction of the gentleman’s shirt because although the shape
was quite basic with no inserts, the side and sleeve seams were joined together
with a crochet – like lace.
Two hours went so
quickly but I came away asking myself, who did that fine embroidery, what age
was she, did she make it for herself or did she make it for an important
lady? Elaine explained that all three
garments I was shown were on permanent loan from the Vaughan Family Trust and
she was currently working with them to see if they could find out the
provenance of these extremely rare and yet wonderfully conserved pieces of
history.
I finished my
afternoon by visiting the Fashion
Museum itself and saw
various garments with a sporting theme to reflect the Olympics. At the end of the temporary exhibition in a
permanent case I found a blackwork coiffe which, although very dark, I managed
to photograph and good old Photoshop improved the image considerably.
Below is a
selection of my photos which I hope you will enjoy and I would like to thank
Elaine Uttley, for arranging to show me some truly wonderful examples of
blackwork. Now I know this facility is
available, I will be back!!
Bodice (I call it Vine bodice) 1580 - 1620
on permanent loan from the Vaughan Family Trust
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| Ladies bodice 1580 - 1620 |
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| Blackwork detail - look at the direction of those small running stitches! |
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| Detail from reverse |
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| Detail of cuff |
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| Construction of bodice |
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| Reverse of blackwork |
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| Sketch of bodice & blackwork |
Bodice (I call it Star bodice) 1580 - 1625
on permanent loan from the Vaughan Family Trust
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| Bodice - 1580 - 1625 |
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| Blackwork |
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| Blackwork reverse side |
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| Bodice neckline |
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| Sketch of Star bodice |
Shirt - 1600 - 1610
on permanent loan from the Vaughan Family Trust
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| Shirts on display stands |
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| Blackwork on shirt |
Coiffe - in permanent exhibition in Fashion Museum
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| Coiffe on display in Fashion Museum, Bath |
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| Detail of coiffe |
