Wax Portrait! Pretty, pretty, pretty

I found the most interesting object while browsing the collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art today



Portrait of a Woman in Venetian Dress, possibly Bianca Capello

Possibly made in Italy, Europe
Late 16th to early 17th century

http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/44066.html?mulR=30954|75

I love the wonderful luminosity of the wax.

The Gold is Down

And now I'm working on joining the sets of loops to make my trim pattern. Maybe there's hope I'll finish after all!

On to Sleeve Two

I've turned and hand stitched the edges of the second sleeve and the attachment of enormous quantities of gold braid has commenced.

I still have fantasies of finishing this silly loose gown this weekend...

IRCC II Tasty Nibble 12 - One Sleeve Down(ish)

The gold trim is finished on the first of my hanging sleeves.





I'm kind of tried of the house being coated with bits of faux fur so I think I'll add the gold braid to the other sleeve and both shoulder treatments before I line them all.

Fear Not! I am still working!

Real life has intruded quite a bit lately but I'm taking just a moment to show you my progress on my IRCC loose gown's hanging sleeve.



And, if anyone is interested in 1880's clothing I now have boards for my inspiration for Teslacon outfits on Pinterest.

http://pinterest.com/auroralucia/

So here's the thing...

I have a picture I want to share with you from a costuming perspective but I also find it to be a very disturbing image of institutionalized violence against women.

I've been flipping back and forth about it, but today I decided that our history as humans is what it is--good an bad. That said, I found another very interesting image in that great book I have been looking at lately "El traje y Los tipos socials en El Quijote" by Carmen Bernis.

Bearing in mind that my contemporary Spanish is nearly non-existent and my archaic Spanish even worse, I gather that it is part of a series of mural paintings dating from the early 1600's from a monastery (possibly in Guadalupe), and that this particular scene portrays an incident in 1593 involving the exorcism of a courtesan.

Her clothing is interesting from a historic costumer's perspective but the whole image is so fraught with emotion and layers of meaning that I find it hard to look at.

And that would be my kind of warning regarding Adult Content Ahead

Detail

Curation milagrosa de una endemoniada, comienzos del siglo XVII
Pinturas murals del claustro del monasterio de Guadalupe


Anything I could say about her bodice/corset would only be speculative, but I note that the bottom of my hemp corded bodice behaves in just the same manner as her's is doing, and that the decorative detailing in the bands at the top and center front would be quite supportive if they were actually trapunto.

And trapunto could handle those corners...hmmmm.

IRCC II Tasty Nibble #11 - The seam-y underside of the sleeve

I thought you might like to see the pieced together madness that is my sleeve.