Dress border
Unknown Artist
early 19th century
Medium
Silk and metal thread
Dimensions
L. 19 x W. 14 1/2 inches 48.3 x 36.8 cm
Classification
Textiles-Embroidered
Culture
French
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of The United Piece Dye Works, 1936
Accession Number
36.90.45
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Dress Border* from early 19th-century France exemplifies the opulent embroidery that graced high-fashion garments during the Napoleonic era and Restoration period. Measuring 19 by 14½ inches, this textile fragment would have trimmed the hem or sleeves of an Empire-style gown, a silhouette defined by high waists and flowing silhouettes inspired by classical antiquity. Produced in a time of political upheaval and cultural revival, such borders reflected France's enduring prestige in luxury textiles, blending artisanal skill with the era's taste for grandeur. Crafted from silk an...