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A woman's sack back and petticoat, of pink silk tobine, with a broad dark pink stripe, green & pink floral sprays, and figured with vertical white lace trail. The sack back is open down the front with robings to the waist and elbow-length sleeves with triple, pinked and scalloped sleeve ruffles. The bodice and sleeves are lined with linen. At the back are two, double box pleats stitched at the neck line. The sack back is made of 6 widths of silk. The front panels and hem are faced with white silk taffeta. A waist seam runs from the front edge to the bodice side-back seams. The skirts are pleated on either side of the pocket openings in the skirt side seams. A ruching of pinked, scalloped, box-pleated silk runs around the back neck line and down the front robings, continuing in a straight line down the front edges of the skirts, increasing in width.

The petticoat is made of 6 widths of silk, and is part-lined with pieced yellow silk. The front is decorated with a band of pinked, scalloped, box-pleated ruching above and below a deep flounce of pinked, scalloped silk.

Both were altered for fancy dress in the late 19th century. A plain stomacher in two pieces was added, one half to each side of the bodice. An insertion was added to the bodice lining at the back and the right side seam taken in. The waistband of the petticoat was removed and a piece removed from the upper back to make the stomacher and patch under the arms. It was replaced with plain silk. The pleats were reconfigured and a casing of white satin and pink ribbed silk sewn on for a drawstring.

Details

  • Title: Sack back
  • Creator: Unknown
  • Date Created: 1760/1769
  • Location: Spitalfields
  • Physical Dimensions: Width: 52.0 cm silk, selvedge to selvedge
  • Provenance: Given by Lady Tidy
  • Medium: Silk, linen, silk thread, linen thread; hand-woven tobine, hand-sewn

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