Corset Busk

Europe, ca. 1815-1820

Marquetry wood

2019.5.35

$250

Corsets defined fashionable female silhouettes from the early fifteenth through to the mid-twentieth century. Prior to the 1850s, at center front of corsets were busks—wood, metal, or ivory inserts that kept torsos upright and breasts separated. This two-tone marquetry example, inset with a printed urn topped by an eternal flame, was probably worn for mourning, given the additional symbolic heart, keyhole, and cross motifs.

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Bracelets and Drawstring Bag Set

Great Britain, ca. 1815-30

Stenciled silk velvet

2019.5.73A-C

$250

Embroidery, playing musical instruments, and singing were necessary accomplishments for elegant women in the early nineteenth century; these decorative endeavors were promoted in fashion periodicals as important contributions to pleasant family life. Stenciling on silk velvet with colored inks—known as “Theorem” painting—was a popular folk art applied to wall hangings, furniture coverings, and even fashion accessories, like these unusual bracelets and matched drawstring bag.

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Day Hat

Stuart Kent Harper

New York City, 1940s

Wool felt & leather

2019.5.21

$600

The over-scaled orchid that tops this day hat is a technical masterpiece; each colored piece of wool felt is handstitched to its neighbor, and then stretched or goffered (a texturing technique employing a hot iron) to create the undulating petals and leaves. Little is known about the talented maker—Stuart Kent Harper—who opened a boutique in New York City in 1937 and worked through the 1940s.

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