#1670 $6,800 Sold
French crewel embroidered linen skirt, c.1790
Towards the end of the 18th century, the petticoat, which had been worn under the open robe, emerged as a skirt worn with a short jacket (caraco). These petticoat-skirts were lavishly decorated with fine embroidery and/or quilting. The waistband from this skirt was removed, probably for display purposes. We know the skirt still had a waistband in 1865, when the skirt was worn at a Civil War benefit—see provenance below.
The caraco jacket and embroidered petticoat/skirt, shown below, from the collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute, illustrate how our crewel embroidered linen skirt (1790) was meant to be worn.
Our superb example of 18th-century needle art was hand embroidered by nuns in a French convent. The point de chainette pattern is rendered in colorful wool yarns on a natural beige linen ground. The chain stitch was done with a needle, not with a tambour hook, as evidenced by the separate stitches on the back side. The stitches are tiny and uniform. The seams and hem are hand stitched.
Chain stitch, one of the oldest embroidery stitches, originated in Persia and India. Linen garments decorated with fine chain stitch can be found in European costume as early as the Middle Ages.
Provenance. The written provenance includes a handwritten note from Mrs. George Reed (a descendent of the original owner) of 49 East Maiden Street, Washington, Pennsylvania. The note reads:
This dress was brought from France in 1790—made by nuns—It belonged to Madeleine Françoise Charlotte Maret. It was worn during the Civil War by Harriet Blackstock, a cousin of Mrs. George Laughlin (Belle McKennan) in an Old Folks concert given for the benefit of the soldiers—It is loaned by Mrs. Madeleine LeMoyne Reed—a great granddaughter, aged 94 years.
The written provenance also includes a letter to Mrs. George Reed from Mrs. I.S. Lansing, written at the time the skirt was exhibited. The letter states in part:
Your piece of embroidery was submitted to Miss Morris, who is curator of laces and embroideries at the museum. She says:"Point de chainette, 18th century French crewel work—very good and decorative example."
Until now, I have never seen written provenance so powerfully resonant with history. The subtext in these simple but moving lines impresses upon us the great value rightfully placed on this skirt over its long life.
1) In 1790 in her native France, Madeleine Maret acquired the valuable skirt, a treasured possession, and carried it across the seas. From that point on, the exact date and the origin of the skirt were recorded and carefully preserved in the family records.
2) The Maret-Reed family and friends placed great importance on the signal occasion when the treasured heirloom was displayed publicly, a benefit concert for Union soldiers, probably a Pennsylvania regiment, during the Civil War. Mrs. Reed lovingly records the event with the solemn pride and joy befitting the occasion.
For our non-American friends, perhaps further comment is needed on the centrality of the Civil War in the American psyche, not only in Mrs. Reed's time, but even to this day. During the Civil War, 700,000 Americans died, more than in all our other wars together, from the Revolution through Iraq. The Civil War was the bloodiest and most traumatic event in our history.
Now place yourself in the position of Harriet Blackstock, who wore this skirt at a benefit for the wounded soldiers returning home. The emotional imperative felt by the women of both sides, the North and the South, to do something, to do anything, to raise money to help the wounded soldiers—this was an overwhelmingly powerful force among the grieving womenfolk on both sides.
3) Almost as an afterthought, we read of the skirt's aesthetic value ("very good and decorative example") in an expert's appraisal given by Miss Morris, the museum curator. Mrs. Reed's friend and correspondent, Mrs. Lansing, referring to the curator's high opinion of the skirt, adds "I think you knew almost as much as this before, but anyway, Miss Morris is an authority."
The approbation of the curator is important. Still, on a human level, we must say that this masterwork of embroidery has an emotional-historical value that rivals and perhaps exceeds its great aesthetic-monetary value. This exquisitely beautiful skirt deserves to be the centerpiece of an important private or museum collection of historical fashion.
The condition is very good to excellent. There are a few small areas of missing stitches. The waist can easily be gathered again for display as a skirt with a jacket.
It measures: 34" long by 112" wide.
