Notable Sales

Bed rug

Eunice Williams Metcalf (American), ca. 1790s

MFA Boston (1980.447)

Image © MFA Boston

Jacket of woven silk

French, ca. 1790

Kyoto Costume Institute (AC9113 94-11-2)

Image © KCI

Knitted silk jacket

Italian (?), late 16th to mid-17th century

Musée des Arts Décoratifs (1996.68.1)

Image © MAD Paris

Embroidered coif

English, ca. 1600

MFA Boston (1996.51)

Image © MFA Boston

Leather chopines
Italian, ca. 1600
The Met (1973.114.4a, b)
Image © The Met 

Beadwork basket

English, dated 1661

Wadsworth Atheneum (sold 1989)

Robe à la française and petticoat of chiné silk

French, ca. 1765

Kyoto Costume Institute (AC5317 86-8-5AE)
Image © KCI

Evening ensemble of rayon crepe

Gilbert Adrian (American), 1945

The Museum at FIT (P82.13.1)

Double-sided silk-embroidered hanging

Chinese for the European market, ca. 1750–1800

The Met (2011.112)

Doll and wardrobe

Ann Whytell (English), dated 1769

LACMA (M.79.249.1-.33)

Robe à la française and petticoat of brocaded silk

French, ca. 1760, the silk ca. 1750

Kyoto Costume Institute (AC5373 86-18-4AC)

Image © KCI

Shoes of brocaded silk

English, ca. 1775–80

The Museum at FIT (2007.12.1)

Robe à la française and petticoat of brocaded silk

French, ca. 1750s, the silk 1720s

The Museum at FIT (2017.46.1)

Wool embroidery

Marguerite Zorach (American), dated 1926 and 1927

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (1996-112-1)

Pair of shoes of brocaded silk

Thomas Ridout & James Davis (English), early to mid-1740s

Colonial Williamsburg (2008-139,1&2)

Waistcoat of brocaded silk

the silk designed by Anna Maria Garthwaite (English) and woven by Peter Lekeux (English), 1747

The Met (C.I.66.14.2)

Image © The Met 

Domino of woven silk

English, ca. 1765–75

V&A Museum (T.195-1968)

Image © V&A

Robe à l'anglaise of painted silk

English, ca. 1785, the silk Chinese, ca. 1760s

Kyoto Costume Institute (AC3837 81-15-2AD)

Image © KCI

Silk- and metallic-embroidered stomacher and collar

Italian, ca. 1730–40

Philadelphia Museum of Art (1996-148-1a,b)

Bizarre brocaded silk cope

probably Italian, ca. 1700–10

Abegg-Stiftung (sold 1998)

"Emeraude" brocaded silk evening dress

Jeanne Paquin (French), Fall/Winter 1918

Museo de la Moda, Santiago (2002.551)
Image © Museo de la Moda

Embroidered and quilted silk coverlet

Norwegian, ca. 1725–50

International Quilt Museum (2015.052.0001)

Silk-embroidered colcha

Indian (Bengal) for the Portuguese market, ca. 1650–1700

Royal Ontario Museum (sold 2019)

Brocaded silk formal dress

probably Italian, ca. 1700, the silk ca. 1680

China National Silk Museum (sold 2016)

Painted-and-dyed cotton palampore

Southeastern Indian for the European market, first half 18th century
The Met (1982.66)

Block-printed cotton hanging

André Édouard Marty (French), 1925

Royal Ontario Museum (2001.43.5)

Painted-and-dyed hanging (kalamkari)

Southeastern Indian possibly for the Russian or Persian market, before 1772

The British Museum (1998,0505,0.1)

Afternoon dress of silk taffeta

American, 1857

The Museum at FIT (sold 1980s)

Evening dress

Madeleine Vionnet (French), Fall/Winter 1924

Phoenix Art Museum (2009.388)

Image © Phoenix Art Museum / Ken Howie

Painted-and-dyed cotton hanging depicting a European conflict in South India

Souheastern Indian for the European market, before 1763

The Met (2014.88)

Silk-embroidered linen 3-piece ensemble

English, ca. 1700

Royal Ontario Museum (sold 1999)

Block-printed cotton bedcover

John Hewson (American), ca. 1790–1810

Philadelphia Museum of Art (2011-101-1)

Man's banyan of brocaded silk
German, ca. 1748–60

The Museum at FIT (2010.98.2)

Silk chainstitch shoes

French, ca. 1780s

Bata Shoe Museum (sold 2012)

Linen cutwork and needle lace table cover

Italian, ca. 1580–1600

Art Institute of Chicago (sold 2008)

Pair of shoes of printed cotton

Vivienne Westwood (English), 1991

MFA Boston (2002.672.1-2)

Crewelwork linen curtain

American (Boston), ca. 1740

Minneapolis Institute of Art (2002.247)

Image © Mia

Crewel-embroidered workbag

English, dated 1675

Colonial Williamsburg (2009-12)

Silk crepe chiffon and lamé evening gown

Callot Soeurs (French), Fall/Winter 1928 

The Met (2019.52)

Needlework cushion

English, dated 1601

Art Institute of Chicago (1989.149)

Silk quilt

Indo-European, late 17th century

Colonial Williamsburg (2005-94)

Beadwork basket

English, ca. 1660–65

Milwaukee Art Museum (M2014.7)

Man's cord-quilted linen undress cap

probably French, ca. 1710-30

International Quilt Museum (2006.004.0002)

Image © International Quilt Museum

Bed rug

American (Connecticut River Valley), dated 1790

Brooklyn Museum (sold 1949)

"Concetto spaziale" screen-printed cotton-rayon

Lucio Fontana (Italian), 1954

Philadelphia Museum of Art (2018-13-2)

Brocaded silk robe à la française

French or Austrian, ca. 1765

The Met (2001.472a, b)

Image © The Met

Sashiko hikeshibanten (quilted fireman's coat)

Japanese, early to mid-19th century

RISD Museum (2019.32.1)

Prestige Hanging (Kpoikpoi)

Mende or Vai people (Sierra Leone)

early 20th century

The Met (2013.986)

Three "Decor I" printed velveteen curtains

Verner Panton (Danish) for Mira-X, 1973–74

Minneapolis Institute of Art (2017.41.1,2,3)

Embroidered silk imperial court dress

Russian, ca. 1890s

Moscow State Art Gallery of Ilya Glazunov (sold 2014)

Man's metallic-embroidered broadcloth court suit

probably French, ca. 1806–14

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (sold 2021)

Brocaded bizarre silk mantua

British, ca. 1708

The Met (1991.6.1a, b)

Image © The Met

Robe à la piémontaise

French, the silk probably Chinese, ca. 1775–80

Colonial Williamsburg (sold 2021)

Screen-printed linen with Peruvian-inspired motifs

Ruth Reeves (American), 1949

Now at the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum (2015-19-5)

Robe à l’anglaise

British, ca. 1770s

Phoenix Art Museum (1987.C.47.A)

Quilt made from a painted-and-dyed cotton palampore

Southeastern Indian for the European market, quilted in Britain, ca. 1780

International Quilt Museum (2006.004.0003)

Image © International Quilt Museum

Banyan or wrapping gown

English; the outer silk Chinese, the lining Persian or Indian, ca. 1700–20

Colonial Williamsburg (2010-20)

Tapestry-woven silk and silver-gilt table cover

Kawashima Textile Co. (Japanese), ca. 1910

Kyoto Costume Institute (sold 2015)

Linen and cane panniers

British, ca. 1750

The Met (1973.65.2)

Image © The Met

Quilted and embroidered colcha

Indian (Bengal) for the European market, mid-17th century

Peabody Essex Museum (sold 2007)

Brocaded silk shoes

English, ca. 1720s

National Gallery of Victoria (2017.203.a-b)

Brocaded silk banyan and waistcoat

French, ca. 1740–60

Musée des Arts Décoratifs (2015.99.1.1-2)

Silk robe à la française and petticoat

French, ca. 1760s

Museum of Fine Arts Boston (2010.589.1-2)

Image © MFA Boston

Painted-and-dyed cotton palampore

Southeastern Indian for the European market, ca. 1700–40

Ashmolean Museum (EA2008.57)

Image © Ashmolean Museum

Appliqued silk day dress

Madeleine Vionnet (French), 1923

Philadelphia Museum of Art (2017-80-1)

Silk embroidery with allegorical scenes

German (Lower Saxony), ca. 1450

The Met Cloisters (2006.255)

"IBM Disks" screen-printed cotton

Angelo Testa (American), ca. 1952–56

LACMA (M.2006.88.5)

Silk tambour-embroidered cotton yardage imitating Spitafields silks

Indian (Gujarat) for the British market, ca. 1750

RISD Museum (2019.32.3)

Silk on linen sampler

Ann Holwell (English), dated November 14, 1669

Colonial Williamsburg (1998-162)

Painted-and-dyed cotton palampore

Southeastern India for the European market, ca. 1700–40

LACMA (M.2012.73)

Silk damask round gown

American (Massachusetts), ca. 1805; the silk Chinese, ca. 1775

Worn by Miriam Lord Manning (1748–1826), grandmother of Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864)

Historic Deerfield (HD 2022.6)

Brocaded silk nightgown (robe à l'anglaise)

English, ca. 1760, the silk ca. 1735

Museum at FIT (2009.11.1)

Cotton album quilt

American (Baltimore), ca. 1847–50

Museum of Fine Arts Boston (1999.531)

Embroidered silk mantua

English, ca. 1745

V&A Museum (T.41&A-1978)

Image © V&A Museum

Silk- and metallic-embroidered coverlet

English, ca. 1720

International Quilt Museum (2006.004.0004)

Image © International Quilt Museum 

Block-printed wool crepe tunic

Raymond Duncan (American), ca. 1915–20

FIDM Museum (2008.905.1)

Image © FIDM Museum

"American Scene" block-printed cotton

Ruth Reeves (American), 1930

St. Louis Art Museum (sold 2022)

Bedcover

made for Robert M. Streeten (American), ca. 1820

MFA Boston (2012.89)

Bizarre brocaded silk shoes

French (?), ca. 1720s, the silk earlier

Bata Shoe Museum (sold 2018)

Silk, cane, and metal panniers

French, ca. 1760s

The Met (2008.297a, b)

Image © The Met 

Robe à la française of brocaded silk

French, ca. 1755–60

The Museum at FIT (P82.27.1)

Painted-and-dyed cotton palampore

Southeastern Indian for the Sri Lankan market

first quarter 18th century

The Met (2010.337)

Image © The Met

Embroidered silk taffeta ball gown with matching parasol

French, ca. 1864

Kyoto Costume Institute (AC10376 2000-40-3AD)

Printed rayon evening gown

Norman Norell (American), 1945

The fabric by Peter Todd Mitchell (American) for Bianchini-Férier, 1944

Made on the occasion of the Costume Institute's first exhibition, "American Fashions and Fabrics" (1945)

The Met (2020.207a, b)

Bizarre brocaded silk

French or Italian, ca. 1710–15

Abegg-Stiftung (sold 2006)

Robe à la française of painted silk

European, 1740s-50s

The Met (1995.235a, b)

Image © The Met 

"Legge Mediterranea" screen-printed cotton-rayon

Gio Ponti (Italian), 1954

Art Institute of Chicago (2022.1492) and

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (2022.50)

Robe à la française of brocaded silk

British, ca. 1760

Phoenix Art Museum (1983.C.94.A)

Needlework sampler

Domitia Duncan (British or Irish), dated 1738

Crab Tree Farm Collections (sold 1999)