This robe à la française is a gown for special, formal occasions. The style is recognisable by the pleating on the back of the gown. These pli Watteau are the only design in fashion history which is named after an artist (Jean Antoine Watteau, 1684-1721). The amount of material needed, plus the cost of the seamstress, made such pleats an expensive undertaking. The cost was, where possible, reduced by the use of a plainer cloth for the back of the underskirt, which was not visible. Once this dress had been added to the collection it received much exposure. It received a prominent place next to the three dresses submitted by Queen Wilhelmina which opened the Costume of our Ancestors exhibition in 1936. The garment has suffered in the passage of time. Old catalogues consistently refer to the dress as being purple or dark red, but the colour has faded. During research we discovered hooks and eyes which enabled the wearer to raise the overskirt, this revealed the original colour underneath.
Title
Robe à la française bestaande uit japon en overjapon
Artist
Dating
1760 - 1765
Material and technique
Object number
6868/001-002
Object type
Acquisition
schenking 2017 (bruikleen sinds 1932)
Dimensions
lengte rok 91 cm
zoomwijdte 265 cm
lengte overjapon 157 cm
zoomwijdte overjapon 250 cm
mouwlengte 25 cm
hoogte cm
breedte cm
diepte cm
Documentation
- Uit de Mode : collectie van het Centraal Museum, Voorw. Bart Rutten, tekst Ninke Bloemberg, Anne-Karlijn van Kesteren, Rosalie Sloof … [et al.] (Utrecht, 2017), p. 74, afb. in kleur p. 75
Exhibitions
- Collectie Centraal, Centraal Museum
- Uit de Mode, Centraal Museum
- Ruisende Rokken : 200 jaar kostuums uit de collectie van het Centraal Museum Utrecht, Centraal Museum
- La Leggenda del filo d'oro, Palazzo Grassi
- Het costuum onzer voorouders 1750-1915, Volksuniversiteit Rotterdam
- Het costuum onzer voorouders 1750-1915, ten bate van de Vereenigingen "Amsterdam I" en "Boddaert-Tehuizen", Restaurant Trianon
- Het costuum onzer voorouders 1750-1915, ten bate van de Provinciale Geldersche Vereeniging tot bestrijding ter Tuberculose, Musis Sacrum
- Het costuum onzer voorouders 1750-1915, ten bate van de Vereeniging Tegemoetkoming In Bijzondere Omstandigheden, Ridderzaal
Persistent url
To refer to this object please use the following persistent URL: https://hdl.handle.net/21.12130/collect.573355D2-CC2D-4B4E-813E-B3708DCEE7A5
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