#1917 $950
Provençal hand-quilted jupon, mid 19th century
This floral print cotton petticoat features trailing vines of red and blue flowers on an ivory ground. The contrasting lining has alternating stripes of purple and brown—see the bottom picture. The cheerful melange of delicate blue, red, green and brown leaves, flowers and buds, fluttering in the breeze, invites your kind attention.
The layers are hand quilted together with cotton batting in between. The hem is finished with rows of decorative corded trapunto ("to embroider" in Italian.) The design is outlined with two or more rows of running stitches and then padded from the underside to achieve a raised effect.
The trapunto style originated in 14th century Sicily and was widely adapted for clothing in Europe and Tudor England, then brought to America by the new settlers. The technique was always considered very elegant.
Hand-quilted cotton petticoats (jupons), made from imported indiennes fabric, were popular in 17th century France. The Provençal city of Marseilles on the Mediterranean developed a lively trade in imported textiles. Needlework artists of the region were quick to incorporate these floral prints into their famous hand-quilted designs.
By the 18th century, French textile mills began producing their own printed cottons. Every fashionable French lady had to have a colorful floral printed petticoat, worn under her open robe. When the open robe went out of style at the end of the 18th century, Provençal women continued to wear their jupons.
The condition is excellent. The petticoat appears crisp and unworn.
The petticoat has a hem circumference of 104". It is 39" long.
