Medium: Silk satin

Date: c. 1860

Country: USA

Credit: Museum purchase

The undulations of gleaming satin in this wedding dress recall the sensual comparison made by novelist Emile Zola between women’s bodies and silk fabric: “All the milky tones of an adored person were there, from the velvet of the hips, to the fine silk of the thighs and the shining satin of the bosom.”

Object Number: P87.20.50