Terms and conditions of use
Coat
(c. 1910)
- Medium
- silk (satin, thread), paint, glass (beads)
- Measurements
- 128.5 cm (centre back) 55.5 cm (sleeve length)
- Place/s of Execution
- (England)
- Inscription
- label, centre back neckline, woven in gold on cream synthetic fabric: LIBERTY & CO. / PARIS & LONDON
- Accession Number
- 2018.1605
- Department
- International Fashion and Textiles
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Krystyna Campbell-Pretty and the Campbell-Pretty Family through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2018
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Professor AGL Shaw AO Bequest - Gallery location
- Special Exhibitions Gallery
Ground Level, NGV International - About this work
-
British company Liberty & Co was a leading source for decorative arts and design at the height of Aestheticism, an artistic movement that valued ‘art for art’s sake’ – beauty over function. A department store as well as a manufacturer, Liberty was also a popular shopping destination. The clothing department was established in 1884 to promote the use of the company’s textiles to dressmakers. This sumptuous silk opera coat highlights the influence of Japanese art on Western culture during the early twentieth century. The drapery, hand-painted details and ‘tree of life’ embroidery reference the form and iconography of the kimono. At the time, Liberty stores also stocked Japanese antique homewares and kimonos alongside the company’s contemporary designs.
- Physical description
- A simple kimono cut coat with seams along shoulder lines in pink-grey satin, painted and embroidered with a large 'tree of life' motif on the back with perching birds, a squirrel and butterflies. The motifs are edged and highlighted in black beads and curved rows of clear beads decorate the coat from shoulder to hem. The coat is lined in golden satin.