Museo del Tessuto, Prato

Mid 16th Century Italian

"Woman's smock, mid sixteenth century, Prato, Museo del Tessuto. The smock, suitable for wearing with a square-necked petticoat, is decorated with cross stitch and backstitch embroidery in rust coloured silk, and with a trimming of bobbin-lace made with yarn of the same colour, alternated with white silk. The motif of stylised vases of flowers alludes to fertility and continual renewal of life. The seams are covered with embroidery to render them decorative."

© Roberta Orsi Landini and Bruna Niccoli, Moda A Firenze 1540 - 1580: Lo stile de Eleonora di Toledo e la sua influenza.  Florence, Edizione Polistampa, 2005.
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