Yellow lampas gown fragment

Status

Not on view

Date1718-1730

Medium/TechniqueSilk, Lampas

DimensionsOverall: 4 7/8 in. × 8 7/16 in. (12.38 cm × 21.43 cm)

Credit LineGift of Miss Chapman, 1890

Object numberW-544/G

DescriptionThis yellow silk lampas fragment is part of 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".

This fragment was taken from the right side of the fabric and shows part of the curvilinear vines.

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 revers of the fabric shows only plain weave, with evidence of the weft design visible only by the binding points of the satin stitch.

The crease in the middle of the fragment along with the rectangular faded section (4" x 3") indicate that the piece was folded and displayed in a frame. Since the edges around the faded portion exceed 1/2", it can be determined that piece was behind a mat.

A seam runs down the right edge of the fabric, using the selvedge as the seam allowance. The selvedges of both the fragment and the piece it was sewn to remain, and show two green stripes running their lengths. The seam is held by a single row of running stitches in a Z-spun 2-ply-S yellow silk thread that is also present on other fragments from the same fabric. 3/4" of the piece of fabric the fragment was sewn to remain, showing that the designs were not aligned along the seam. The fact that both seam allowances are contain the selvedges suggests that the garment was never taken in and the seam is part of the garments original construction.

The fragment has a significantly large red-brown stain, resembling those found of other fragments in the MVLA collection from the same fabric. "#70" is written in black ink on the front face near the seam. The ink has partially soaked through to the revers. Small holes in the center of the faded portion align with holes on the other half when folded along the crease, suggesting they were from pinning after the piece was already fragmented.

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