Curios & Treasures Checklist The Costume Institute The Metropolitan Museum of Art August 14, 2000 - Jam*ary49; 2001 Curios & Treasures By presenting a selection of the most extraordinary examples in the Costume Institute, Curios & Treasures celebrates the rich diversity of our vast collection. As historical artifacts, these objects of personal adornment articulate a vivid, intriguing story that spans more than five hundred years. Most of these unique objects have never been on public display. From the sixteenth through the eighteenth century, men's wardrobes were just as flamboyant and decorative as women's. Extravagant fabrics and textiles were a predominant consideration in design. By the late nineteenth century, fashion shifted its focus to the tight-laced Victorian silhouette. While there was great social pressure to conform, alternative styles began to emerge that paved the way for twentieth-century fashion. Curios & Treasures is a testament to the insatiable desire of people to flaunt their individuality through fashion. DP100178 DP100179 DP100180 DP100181 DP100182 DP100183 * ( Wt \ ... DP100184 DP100185 DP100186 DP100187 DP100188 So 5_e -CV /OOI 8TA See. DP 10018U Wall Case: Doublets J)f? /00/"7^ Because seventeenth-century costume pieces rarely survive, these doublets offer a unique look at fashionable menswear from the period. While paintings and prints are useful tools for studying general styles and silhouettes, in-depth examination of extant objects provides a more complete understanding of the technological, economical, and social factors surrounding clothing. The basic components of men's seventeenth-century costume consisted of a doublet, jerkin, shirt, and trunk hose, or breeches. The doublet was the basic upper-body garment worn from the fifteenth century through the seventeenth century with variations in length, fit, and sleeve volume. Jerkins mirrored the silhouette of doublets but were sleeveless and were worn over doublets. 1. French or Italian Jerkin, ca. 1630 Red, gold, and ivory brocatelle Rogers Fund, 1935 (35.98.2) Consultation with the Arms and Armor Department determined that this jerkin may have been worn under armor, due to the abrasion pattern visible across the garment. 2. English Coat, 1630-40 Buff leather Gift of Mrs. Alexander McMillan Welch, 1950 (CI 50.98.3) Presumably a utilitarian garment, this coat still retains a number of fashionable details such as decorative slashed sleeve caps and split sleeves through which the chemise would be visible. 3. French (Luchesse silk) Doublet, 1620-25 Polychrome silk brocade trimmed with mauve silk braid and lined with mauve silk Purchase, The Costume Institute Fund, in memory of Polaire Weissman, 1989 (1989.196) This extraordinary doublet is one of only two surviving examples of its type from the 1620s. The only other known doublet of this kind is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Made of luxurious silk embellished with pinking and decorative slits, this doublet followed a fashion that existed barely five years. Pinking, or the intentional slashing of fabric, was a popular decorative technique used to reveal colorful linings, shirts, and chemises. It is possible that this garment was constructed from silk previously pinked for another use as the pattern created does not follow the cut of the garment. Si fc I X 3 Vitrine: Accessories £>p /do /J? 4. English Purse, 1580-1600 Linen embroidered with polychrome silk floss, metallic thread, and metallic purl, lined with pink silk Purchase, Judith and Gerson Leiber Fund, 1986 (1986.300.1) Elaborately embroidered purses such as this example were known as "sweet bags" and were used to carry scented herbs or essences to cover unpleasant odors. • 5. English Pair of Mules, early 17th century Leather and ivory linen embroidered with polychrome silk thread, metallic purl, and metallic thread Rogers Fund, 1929 (29.23.11,. 12) By the sixteenth century, embroidery had become a highly developed art form in England and on the Continent. The proliferation of printed materials, particularly books of embroidery designs, supplied a wealth of motifs for both the amateur and professional embroiderer. The superb workmanship found on this pair of early-seventeenth-century mules suggests professional design and manufacture. 6. Spanish Helmet, 16th century Straw with polychrome velvet applique embroidered with paillettes and metallic purl Rogers Fund, 1932 (32.132) This unusual plaited straw helmet is very similar in both shape and ornament to contemporary steel military helmets. However, this highly decorative example was likely worn by a high-ranking official for festive peacetime occasions. 7. European Purse, 16th century Ivory linen embroidered with metallic thread, polychrome silk floss, metallic purl, and applique with iron frame Gift of Catharine Oglesby, 1959 (CI 59.30.3) This elaborately embroidered purse, possibly of French origin, is of the type commonly carried by men during this period. Used for holding small amounts of money, these purses would have been worn on the belt. In this example, the ornate iron frame, which carries a hallmark from Nuremburg, Germany, is equipped with two carriers on the reverse for a belt. 8. French Purse, late 17th century Enameled copper panels, silver compound weave, and silver metallic cord IK 14 1* 9. Purse, late 17th century OP 100 1*7? Enameled copper panels, ivory silk and silver compound weave, silver metallic fringe, and red silk grosgrain ribbon Gift of Mrs. EdwardS. Harkness, 1930(30.135.175, 176) By the seventeenth century, gift-giving had become an elaborate ritual among the upper classes. Monetary gifts were often presented in small decorative purses made from costly materials. Gift purses such as these enameled drawstring bags were a specialty of the French town of Limoges. These two bags with enameled portraits may have been intended as wedding gifts. 10. European Purse, 18th century Ivory silk embroidered with polychrome silk floss and metallic thread trimmed with pink silk ribbon and metallic braid Purchase, Sadie M. Simon Memorial Fund, 1939 (CI 39.69.20) France emerged as the dominant tastemaker for the decorative arts in the eighteenth century. Europe's upper classes looked toward France for aesthetic inspiration, imposing a certain uniformity of design on the creations of professional workshops. This included the embroidery workshops, often making it difficult for historians to pinpoint an embroidered artifact's country of manufacture. 11. English Gloves, early 17th century White leather embroidered with metallic thread, paillettes, and red silk applique Gift of Miss Irene Lewisohn, 1940 (CI 40.194.30a,b) 12. English Gloves, early 17th century White leather embroidered with metallic thread, polychrome silk purl, polychrome silk floss, and paillettes Gift of Miss Irene Lewisohn, 1940 (CI 40.194.31 a, b) During the seventeenth century, elaborately embroidered gloves were commissioned to be made as presents for distinguished visitors, patrons, and heads of state. Their status as purely decorative objects, rather than practical everyday wear, has resulted in the survival of an unusually large number of gloves of this type. 13-15. English Men's Shoes, late 15th- mid-16th century Brown leather Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, 1929 iGT54^3r21r^22^2S)- fat ^% $$<\z ,. \^} $°\£) These shoes, part of a larger collection of objects excavated from an archaeological site on the Thames River in London, provide an overview of fashionable shoe styles from the mid-fourteenth to the early sixteenth century. The poulaine, a long pointed shoe, remained the popular footwear, with its overall length expanding and contracting, for almost 150 years. The long, exaggerated points were often stuffed with moss or other materials for support. By the late fifteenth century, the poulaine was superceded by an equally exaggerated style of shoe that was unusually broad across the instep and toe. This style was relatively short-lived, however, and was quickly replaced by a shoe that more closely approximated the natural shape of the foot. Intentional slashing and embossing of the leather were common decorative embellishments. 16. Spanish 0/° ***t7* Jerkin, ca. 1580 Brown silk voided velvet trimmed with metallic bobbin lace Gift of Bashford Dean, 1926 (26.196) Working in tandem, curators and conservators combine theory and science to produce a more complete understanding of historical artifacts. Testing on this sixteenth-century jerkin by Conservator Christine Paulocik has shown that all of the applied adornment - including the padding at the shoulders, silk tufts, and metallic bobbin lace - is original to the garment. Decorative buttons made of boxwood at center front give the illusion of a closure, when in reality the wearer would have required help setting dressed due to the laced closure located at the center back. The use of boxwood buttons turned on a lathe is consistent with technology and materials of the period. The loss of velvet pile is likely a result of an iron mordant used in the dying process. 17. Austrian Hat, ca. 1600-1610 Beige leather embroidered with black silk Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Werner Abegg, 1960 (CI 60.52) This hat was a typical style of men's headwear worn during the early seventeenth century. The surface decoration and embroidery bear a strong resemblance to that found on a leather fencing doublet (29.158.175) dated about 1580 and currently on display in the Arms and Armor galleries. 18. English Cap, 16th century Felted brown wool knit Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, 1929 {GH&63A4)- £q . \*# . ^5 19. English Cap, 16th century Felted brown wool knit Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, 1929 {Cl56.63.15} 3^.^.^% These felted knit caps are typical of sixteenth-century headwear in England. Cap knitting was an important domestic industry, restricted to professional guilds and protected by law. One such law, the Statute of Apparel, passed in 1571, specifically stated that all English citizens above the age of six, except nobility, "had on Sabbath and Holydays to wear caps of wool manufactured in England." 20.