Designed by Charles Frederick Worth / Ball gown / ca. 1872

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Creator Name: Worth, Charles Frederick
Creator Nationality: European; British; English
Creator Role: Designer
Creator Dates/Places: English, 1826 - 1895
Creator Name-CRT: Designed by Charles Frederick Worth
Title: Ball gown
Title Type: Object name
View: Full View
Creation Start Date: 1870
Creation End Date: 1874
Creation Date: ca. 1872
Object Type: Costume and Jewelry
Classification Term: Main dress-Womenswear
Materials and Techniques: Silk
Dimensions: (a,b) L. at center back 55 in. (140 cm); (d) L. at side seam 23 in. (58.5 cm)
AMICA Contributor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: New York, New York, USA
ID Number: 46.25.1a-d
Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Philip K. Rhinelander, 1946
Rights: http://www.metmuseum.org/
Context:

Worth rarely scrutinized or adapted forms from the East; in this unusual example, he has emulated Middle Eastern enamels. More often, he was an instrument of a Western taste that was projected globally via imperialism. He is said to have created 250 dresses on commission from Empress Eugénie for her appearances at the opening of the Suez Canal in 1868. This gown was worn by Mrs. William De Forest Manice, the donor's grandmother, at both the French and English courts during the reigns of Napoleon III and Queen Victoria. When worn on such occasions, the dress had a detachable brocade train, since destroyed.

AMICA ID: MMA_.46.25.1a-d
AMICA Library Year: 2000
Media Metadata Rights: Copyright The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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