Mantua

A woman's mantua and petticoat of pale lemon yellow silk embroidered in coloured polychrome silks in satin stitch, long and short stitch, stem stitch and French knots in a design which includes roses, convolvulus, poppies, pansies, gillyflower, honeysuckle and single hollyhocks all in their natural colours.

The mantua and petticoat were received in pieces and reconstruction by Textile Conservation, with missing elements from a plain yellow modern silk. The robings were replaced with silk painted to reproduce the embroidery pattern. The petticoat has been reconstructed at the waist, using some but not all of the original pleating.