Yellow lampas gown fragment

Status

Not on view

Date1718-1730

Geography Possibly made - England

Medium/TechniqueSilk, Lampas

DimensionsOverall: 20 in. × 13 5/8 in. (50.8 cm × 34.61 cm)

Credit LineMount Vernon Collection

Object numberW-499/A

DescriptionThis yellow silk lampas fragment features a point repeat design (a reverse repeat, mirrored across the central axis), containing a central bouquet motif with tulips, berries, pineapples, and pomegranates in a vase. The central motif is flanked by serpentine vines featuring berries and grape leafs. Various geometric diaper patterns are used to fill the floral elements. Based on comparison with other fragments of this fabric which contain a selvedge, the original width of the fabric was approximately 20.5 -21". The vertical repeat of the design is approximately 15.5".

The fabric is plain woven with supplementary warps and thicker wefts, causing a very slight ribbing. The warp floats are Z-spun, and the weft floats are unspun and show a 4/1 satin stitch. The reverse of the fabric shows only plain weave, with evidence of the weft design visible only by the binding points of the satin stitch.

The horizontal point repeat of the design runs both down the center of the full width of fabric and down the center of this fragment. Three edges are cut into large triangles to prevent fraying while the top edge is cut straight. Fragment W-2979 was cut from the left half of the top edge and features the same zig-zag cutting technique along the left edge, showing that the zig-zag edge was fragmented first and was cut down further as time progressed. Another small piece is cut from the top left corner, but is not currently in our collection.

The fragment is significantly faded, and there is a red-brown splatter stain across the bottom right, which is also present in several of the other fragments from this fabric, suggesting that it happened before the garment was cut into pieces. The stain does not go through to the reverse of the fabric and does not seem to have embrittled it. Dark black spots also stain the upper right corner; they appear to be ink stains.

Mount Vernon's object research is ongoing and information about this object is subject to change. For information on image use and reproductions, click here.