Woman's Day Dress
c. 1800
Medium
Cotton, hand-spun, hand-woven plain weave called mulmul or muslin
Dimensions
Approximately: H.: 152.4 cm (60 in.)
Classification
costume
Department
Textiles
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
250437
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
Indian cotton weavers have been creating delicate, sheer textiles for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. Elite men and women on the Indian subcontinent valued such fine, cotton muslin—a specialty of Bengal that was made entirely by hand—for fashionable clothing. White cotton dresses first appeared in French fashion in the 1780s; the simplicity of the delicate column-like silhouette was seen as an ideal expression of Neoclassical femininity, a look inspired by Classical Greek and Roman statua...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...