Apron
1760s
- Medium
- Cotton, plain weave; drawnwork and embroidery in cotton, satin, buttonhole, chain, and double chain stitches with linen thread
- Classification
- Costume and Accessories
- Dimensions
- 200.7 × 104.1 cm (79 × 41 in.)
- Culture
- England
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Textiles
- Credit line
- Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
This apron mimics lace in its play of translucence and opacity. Fine sheer cotton muslin, imported to Europe from India, played a crucial role in fashion starting in the 1780s, but in this earlier example the embroidery motifs worked on the muslin are drawn from a traditional English vocabulary of stylized flowers. No ordinary kitchen apron, this accessory would have formed part of an elegant ensemble for a stroll in the park.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
