Costume for 'Portia' in 'The Merchant of Venice'
Auguste & Co
Category
Costume
Date
circa 1883 - 1887
Materials
Silk, cotton, metal hooks and eyes and metal thread
Place of origin
Great Britain
Order this imageCollection
Smallhythe Place, Kent
NT 1118837
Caption
In Act IV of ‘The Merchant of Venice’, Portia masquerades as a doctor of laws in order to outwit the vilified Shylock. To succeed, she must not only feign legal expertise; she must cross-dress in men's judicial robes in order to exercise powers otherwise denied to her because of her sex. The great Shakespearean actress Dame Ellen Terry (1847-1928) earned the highest accolades of her career playing the role of Portia, first in 1875 at the Prince of Wales's Theatre and then in 1879 at the Lyceum Theatre. It was for the Lyceum production that she donned the stunning red costume seen here to perform this pivotal scene. While it isn’t known if Shakespeare ever set foot in Italy, it certainly held a special place in his imagination. Venice – that prosperous maritime centre where different nations and peoples intermingled in ways not possible in England – is the backdrop against which Portia can engage in transvestism, and as a result, adjust gender imbalances of the time. This costume is connected to another famous cross-dresser, Vita Sackville-West. She wore it at a Fancy Dress Ball at Knole in 1910 in aid of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre Fund, where Ellen Terry also performed. Vita later wrote of the actress: 'She was all woman to me’.
Summary
Red silk crepe robe, with long trailing sleeves and lined with plain red silk. Part of costume worn by Ellen Terry as 'Portia' in 'THE MERCHANT OF VENICE' at the Lyceum Theatre. Comprising a robe (TC/112a), dress (112b), sash (112c), and cap (112d).
Makers and roles
Auguste & Co , costumier