Garter
Category
Costume
Date
1775 - 1800
Materials
Brass, Silk
Measurements
305 mm (H)178 mm (W)
Order this imageCollection
Snowshill Wade Costume Collection, Gloucestershire
NT 1350074
Caption
This pair of exquisitely embroidered garters at Snowshill Manor is said to have belonged to the last ancien régime queen of France. Beribboned garters – bands worn around the leg to keep up stockings – were made in the late 18th century before the introduction of elastic. This pair includes tiny coiled springs inside the silk, a fastening patented in 1783 by inventor Martin van Butchell (1735–1814), who also designed springs for artificial teeth. A woman’s garter was a personal and symbolic accessory, associated with the ritual of toilette (getting ready for the day) but also with flirtatious behaviour. These hand-stitched garters were probably purchased by Charles Paget Wade (1883–1956) at auction for his important historical textile collection. Although difficult to prove, the suggestion that these intimate items of clothing belonged to the controversial, fashion-conscious French queen Marie Antoinette (1755–93) added to their importance. The French court was often portrayed as a place of sexual freedoms, and Marie Antoinette became the target of insulting pamphlets and caricatures before her execution during the French Revolution.
Summary
A pair of garters - Made from cream silk satin and lined with cream silk tabby. Originally they fastened with ribbons atttached to brass springs encased in silk. They are padded and embroidered with chenille in a design of flowers and leaves either side of a printed box containing the following verse: 'Je peins une beauté fidèle; Je forme un emsemble parfait; Et quand je trace ce portrait, Vous seule en êtes le modèle.' They are reputed to have been worn by Marie Antoinette, possibly brought to England by Francis Bulwer, Lady in Waiting to the Princesse de Lamballe (close friend to Marie Antoinette).
Provenance
Given to National Trust with Snowshill Manor in 1951 by Charles Paget Wade