Coat

Despite being covered with tightly packed flowers worked in couched metal thread, the silk pile of this purple velvet coat has almost completely disappeared. This is unlikely to have been caused by wear and tear, as the raised embroidery would have protected it; the silk may have been treated with a substance that accidentally accelerated the natural process of decay.

The repeating pattern of gold flower heads linked by short stems is rather subdued but it provides a solid pattern to contrast with the dramatic swirling silver cords that form the edging. In fact the metal thread used to create the flowers is not gold, or even gilt; it is silver strip wound around a yellow silk core, with several strands twisted together to form a cord.

The applied woven braid is also silver but appears to have a golden sheen when it is placed next to the pure silver colour of the edging. This effect has been achieved by stitching silver thread in a chevron pattern onto dark red silk cords. The cords were coiled into fluid swirls, secured by stitches on the reverse and then attached to the edge of the coat. A small square of woven braid has been inserted from the back to fill in gaps formed by the wave-like undulations which themselves have been edged with a row of tightly coiled silver cords.