dress; evening dress

circa 1859-1860

silk, cotton, wool, hand-stitched, machine-stitched

Woman’s dress or evening dress in dark pink-red silk taffeta dyed with American cochineal (Dactylopius Coccus C.). Wide off-the-shoulder décolletage with bertha woven à disposition with black velvet pile border of daisies and pine leaves with chenille fringe. Fitted bodice with deep v-shaped waistline, fastening at centre back with lacing. Short puffed sleeves with matching woven border concealed beneath the bertha. Skirt, full-length, gathered into waist with two deep flounces woven à disposition. Bodice lined with cotton with nine bones. Worn by Maria Hughes, the widow of Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel James Pond.

DRESS

bust: 940 mm; footprint: 1300 mm x 1300 mm; waist: 740 mm