f02-CoraGinsburg-Dec09.qxd:CoraGinsburg-2008.qxd 2009/12/21 11:33 AM Page 1 CORA GINSBURG LLC TITI HALLE OWNER A Catalogue of exquisite & rare works of art including 17th to 20th century costume textiles & needlework Winter 2009–2010 by appointment 19 East 74th Street tel 212-744-1352 New York, NY 10021 fax 212-879-1601 www.coraginsburg.com
[email protected] DRESDEN WORK APRON English, dated 1728 At times in the history of dress, aprons, which have traditionally served as a utilitarian component of working-class clothing, were adopted as decorative accessories in the fashionable attire of wealthy women. During the eighteenth century, beautifully embroidered aprons in both silk satin and taffeta, as well as cotton examples such this rare and exceptional Dresden work apron, clearly demonstrated their purely ornamental role. With its graceful pattern, this apron would have been valued for its fine craftsmanship as well as the elegant impression it would present when worn. Curvilinear vines spring from three mounds at the lower edge. Each vine displays flowers, including stylized tulips, daisies and sunflowers, and four fanciful, long-tailed birds facing in opposite directions across their evenly spaced perches. The virtuosity of this Dresden work derives from the embroiderer’s repertoire of various types of drawn work—each bird and flower is delineated by a different filling pattern. Also of note here is the embroiderer’s repeated marking of her initials. At the apron’s top edge, the letters “M” and “H” are stitched inside of flowers; below in the second row of birds, the embroiderer’s monogram “MH” and the date of 1728 appear twice, once in a Hollie point medallion, showing the range of her needlework skills.