Waistcoat

This court waistcoat features embroidery in an eye-catching contrast of light and dark. The pale silk fabric is woven with an additional weft of silver thread. On top are worked gilt spangles, black silk and black and white glass beads. The design combines the angular and linear aesthetics of the new Neo-classical style with the flowing curves typical of the Rococo.

By the 1780s, such elaborate embroidery was only worn at court in England. The coat and breeches that accompanied this waistcoat have not survived, but portraiture of the period suggests a white silk woven with silver thread or midnight blue velvet might have completed a handsome ensemble.