Merveilleuse: Coeffure Chinoise, Robe Garnie en Chicorée
Designer Horace Vernet French
Engraver Georges Jacques Gatine French
Not on view
Hand-colored engraving with design for the costume of a Merveilleuse, part of the book "Incroyables et Merveilleuses," with 33 costume plates designed by Horace Vernet and engraved by Georges Jacques Gatine, published ca. 1815 in Paris. The costume in this plate consists of a long, white dress with open V-shaped collar and short sleeves, both bordered with ruffles, empire waist marked by a white belt tied to form a small bow at the back of the dress, and interlacing strips of small dots that form lozenges at the bottom of the skirt, white gloves, and white boots with ruffles. The hairstyle accompanying the outfit, called "Chinese" in the inscription, consists of hair tied up to form scrolling braids with loose curls above them, surrounded by short curls formed around the face and neck by parts of the hair that are left loose, simulating the shape of an Oriental helmet.