The Painting.

Just got back from my first viewing of the portrait at the house. She's lovely! 

I've always been amazed by how much detail there is on the portrait, and on the costume in particular, but having seen it today I was taken aback by how much work there is in it. It definitely won't be a problem trying to work out the embroidery pattern on the bodice, it looks as though Robert Peake has painted every stitch!

You can definitely see how the paining has improved from its restoration. The one thing that struck me is how much lighter the bodice is. From the original painting I had an image of gold coloured fabric, however going from what I have seen today it seems to be lighter than that, more of a dark cream.

It was also pointed out to me where the restoration team believe the painting was altered after its completion. They believe the shape of the bodice was changed, by making it shorter, to keep up with the fashions. Understandably, it would be frustrating to pay to have your portrait done, only to have what you are wearing quickly go out of favour! They can see the alterations from the way the there is less detail in top of the skirt, around her right arm/waist area. Why would Peake spend so much time putting detail into the whole painting but not this area? It is a much more feasible explanation that the painting was later altered by somebody else. I'm not sure if you will be able to tell from the pictures I have taken today, but it is much more clear when you see the painting for yourself.

I also received the mannequin the costume will be made for today so, after taking some measurements, I am ready to get started!

 

Finding a Date...

Before I could start any research into into the costume, I needed to pin point a date that the portrait was painted. I had been told the painting was early 17th century, however fashion changed fast and dramatically during this time so it was important to acquire a much more specific date to make sure I was on the right track.
My first point of call was to look at a portrait of Margaret Layton which I was told had a very similar costume to the Dunham portrait.

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O69443/painting-margaret-layton-formerly-laton/


There are definite similarities between the costumes;

• Similar jacket, embroidery, colour.
• Similar skirt, where it sits on the waist.
• Similar shaped ruff (pointing down) & cuffs.  

This portrait was painted in 1620, giving me my first clue to when my portrait was painted. Next I looked into ruff fashions to see if I could acquire any more accuracy from that. The fashion for ruffs died out 1625 which told me the portrait could be no older than that. However after reading over the information obtained it was apparent that, Robert Peake, died in 1619, so obviously the portrait could be no older than that!

I then looked into embroidery fashions and found an interesting piece on Jacobean embroidery on http://thefashionhistorian.blogspot.com/search/label/17th%20century

The Jacobean Period refers to the reign of King James I (of England)/VI (of Scotland). James became king of Scotland in 1567 after the execution of his mother, Mary Queen of Scots. He became king of England in 1603, after the death of Queen Elizabeth I. This was a transitional period, where the late Elizabethan styles were still mostly in play. One of the defining features of the period is extensive use of heavy embroidery picturing natural motifs, with colorful flowers and animals swirling around on the fabric.

This description of Jacobean embroidery is exactly what the embroidery of the jacket in the portrait depicts, telling me that the portrait would have been painted during the reign of King James I, narrowing down my search for a date to some time between 1603-1619.

The final clue was that it is believed the portrait was painted as Vere Egerton's engagement portrait, before she married into the Booth family of Dunham in 1619. So my final guess would be that the portrait was painted between 1615 & 1618.

Start at the Begining.

I have been asked to put together a costume exhibition for Dunham Massey. In the summer the National Trust, alongside the Art fund, bought a portrait of Vere Egerton at Sotheby's. This portrait used to belong to the house at Dunham Massey and after undertaking restoration work, it is back! To commemorate its return I have been asked to put together a costume exhibition that will sit along side the portrait. Within this exhibition I will be trying to recreate as much of the costume as possible so visitors to the house will be able to get a real hands on experience and be able to see for themselves all the detail that went into dress of that period.

Here goes...

More information on the portrait can be found here;
http://nttreasurehunt.wordpress.com/2011/07/26/portrait-of-a-lady-returns-to-dunham/

 More information on Dunham Massey and the National Trust can be found here;

http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-vh/w-visits/w-findaplace/w-dunhammassey.htm