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Woman's dress
Worn by: Mehetable Stoddard Sumner (Welles) (American, 1784–1826)
Possibly French, worn in America
1815–20
Place of Use: Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Medium/Technique
Silk plain weave crepe with silk satin trim, metal hooks, silk plain weave lining (bodice)
Dimensions
Center back: 135.3 cm (53 1/4 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Emily Welles Robbins (Mrs. Harry Pelham Robbins) and the Hon. Sumner Welles, in memory of Georgiana Welles Sargent
Accession Number49.874
NOT ON VIEW
CollectionsAmericas, Fashion and Textiles
ClassificationsCostumes
DescriptionYellow high-waisted dress with long sleeves and straight long skirt; trimmed with cream silk satin bands with piping across front and back of bodice (á la Hussar), double bands at cuffs, and five rows along hem; fullness at back of skirt with gathers at waistband; hook closures at back of bodice
InscriptionsWritten in ink on fabric label sewn inside bodice: "Dress Mrs. B. Welles, Boston, 1822-25, marked by her granddaughter G. W. Sargent 1906"
ProvenanceWorn by Mehetable Stoddard Sumner (Mrs. Benjamin Welles) (1784-1826) of Boston; Inherited by her granddaughter Miss Georgiana Welles Sargent (born 1858) of New York City; Gift of Emily Welles Robbins (Mrs. Harry Pelham Robbins) and the Hon. Sumner Welles, in memory of Georgiana Welles Sargent, to MFA 1949