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Detail

   

White Muslin Gown Embroidered à la Mathilde
Unknown maker and place of origin, ca. 1804-1811.
Gift of Colin Lawton Johnson
KSUM 2002.35.4
Reproduction underdress and shoes

Worn with:
Long Kanikar Shawl with Mustard Yellow Field
Kashmir, India, ca.1810-20.
Twill-tapestry weave 2/2 twill, wool warp and weft, embroidered outer end borders.
Kent State University Museum
Silverman/Rodgers Collection
KSUM 1983.1.2233

The discovery of Herculaneum (1738) and Pompeii (1748) fueled a love for the styles of ancient Greece and Rome that was to form the basis of neoclassicism. With only washed out sculptures made of white stone depicting women in thin body-revealing clothing to emulate, garments became light in color and structure. In reality, there was nothing sacred to the Greeks about plain stone and, when first exhibited, statues were often heavily painted in bright, imaginative colors.