Dress border
Unknown Artist
early 19th century
Medium
Silk on silk
Dimensions
L. 17 3/4 x W. 15 1/8 inches 45.1 x 38.4 cm
Classification
Textiles-Embroidered
Culture
French
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of The United Piece Dye Works, 1936
Accession Number
36.90.44
Tags
Art Historical Context
This delicate *Dress border* from early 19th-century France the opulent textile arts of the Empire and Restoration periods. Crafted as embroidered silk on silk, it measures 17¾ x 15⅛ inches (45.1 x 38.4 cm) and was likely designed as a decorative trim for the hem or sleeves of a fashionable gown. Floral motifs, a hallmark tag of this piece, bloom in intricate patterns, reflecting the era's Romantic fascination with nature amid the grandeur of neoclassical influences. Such borders adorned elite wardrobes, symbolizing refinement and status in a time when French fashion set global trends. The me...