Costume for 'Lady Macbeth' in MACBETH (Beetle wing costume)
Alice Laura Comyns-Carr, Mrs Joseph Comyns-Carr (1850-1927)
Category
Costume
Date
1888
Materials
Beetle wings, Cotton, Glass, Lace, Metal, Silk
Place of origin
London
Order this imageCollection
Smallhythe Place, Kent (Accredited Museum)
On show at
Costume Room, Smallhythe Place, Kent, London and South East, National Trust
NT 1118839.1
Caption
Ellen Terry wore this 'beetle wing' dress for an 1888 performance of 'Macbeth' at the Lyceum Theatre. The dress, designed by Alice Comyns Carr, is adorned with real wings shed naturally by the jewel beetle of Southeast Asia. Carr, who worked closely with Terry on her costumes, wrote that the dress should look 'like soft chain armour… [and] give the appearance of the scales of a serpent'.
Summary
Part of costume (dress) for Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth in 'Macbeth' Lyceum Theatre, 1888. Designed by Alice Comyns Carr and worn for portrait by Singer Sargeant. Green and metallic thread ?knitted mesh adorned with beetlewings. Green silk lined bat-wing sleeves, decorated with metal threads. Cotton lace collar. Jewels at throat. Associated with cloak NT/SMA/TC/114b.
Makers and roles
Alice Laura Comyns-Carr, Mrs Joseph Comyns-Carr (1850-1927), designer
Exhibition history
Sargent and Fashion , Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA, 2021 - 2022 Sargent and Fashion , Tate Britain, London, 2021 - 2022