Mantle

Fine linen mantles were worn by both gentry and aristocratic women in the early 17th century. Embellishing them with lace, whitework and cutwork was characteristic of the period. The embroidery design of this example is clearly not European, but typical of a style done in India.

From the early 16th century until the 1630s, Portugal had trading posts in Bengal and imported textiles in this style. The fabric of this mantle has been identified as linen, which is a fibre not used in India. The Bengalese used only cotton for their whitework embroideries. So this mantle must have been made in Portugal with local materials, but by embroiderers very familiar with the Bengalese style.

The collar and collar band are of a different design and quality of linen thread, suggesting that they may have been recycled from another linen garment.