Terms and conditions of use
Bodice
(c. 1859); remade (c. 1880)
- Medium
- silk, metal
- Measurements
- 61.0 cm (centre back) 57.0 cm (sleeve length)
- Place/s of Execution
- Paris, France
- Inscription
- label, inner waistband, printed in gold ink on cream silk: WORTH & BOBERGH / PARIS / 7.RUE DE LA PAIX. AU PREUIER.
- Accession Number
- 521-D5
- Department
- International Fashion and Textiles
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Miss M. Bostock, 1963
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Professor AGL Shaw AO Bequest - Gallery location
- Not on display
- About this work
-
In this case, investigation by the NGV Textiles Conservation team followed several key threads. The first was to resolve the date of make and likelihood of the bodice’s couture pedigree, the second aimed to establish the authenticity of the label.
The label reads ‘Worth and Bobergh, Paris, 7 Rue de la Paix Au Premiere’, in a manner that is consistent with labels of that partnership and its likely construction date. When the Empress Eugenie became a client in 1862, Worth added a centrally located coat of arms. To date, no other label matching the bodice’s has been sighted. Reason suggests that it is a fake, or extremely rare, used by Worth during his first two years of operation. Whether the label was attached to the bodice at this time remains a bigger mystery.