Queen isabella II's Reversible Embroidered silk shawl
date: label: date made
content: ca. 1850
notes: label: Description (Brief)
content: An embroidered silk shawl, probably Chinese-made, likely on commission as the coloring is unusual, mid 19th C.; Hand embroidered in multi-colored silk son a brown silk crepe ground. Dense patterning in the four corners leaving a cross-shaped sparsely patterned reserve in the center. Design of flowers, leaves, birds, including peacocks, insects. Floral vine outer border. 13" long Knotted brown silk fringe. Said to have been owned by the last Queen of Spain, isabella II, 1833-1868. The design is exquisitely embroidered, almost reversible, suggesting it was made by 2 embroiderers, one on each side of a frame on which the shawl was stretched.
label: Description (Brief)
content: The shawl is said to have been given to a singer, Antonia Terruel, by Queen Isabella; Antonia emigrated to the US with her uncle, who had been a court weaver, and settled in Baltimore, becoming close friends with the family of Angelo Grossi. Antonia left the shawl and a few other belongings to Mrs. Grossi in her will. Antonia died of pneumonia, nursed by Mrs. Grossi, in 1901. Mrs. Grossi willed it to her daighter, Mrs. Violet Meecham, in 1904. The donor bought it from Mrs. Meecham in about 1936
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: China
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Textiles
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Mrs. F. Fred (Anne K.) Ruzicka, Sr.
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: TE.T12703.000
label: catalog number
content: T12703.000
label: accession number
content: 238740
objectType: label: Object Name
content: Shawl
physicalDescription: label: Measurements
content: overall: 62 in x 62 in; 157.48 cm x 157.48 cm