#early 18th Century

[jeannepompadour]

Red embroidered jacket and skirt dress ensemble, 1st half of 18th century

[ltwilliammowett]

A silver pocket globe, by R. Cushee, 1731

[life-imitates-art-far-more]

Bartolomeo Bimbi (1648-1729) "Oranges, Limes, Lemons, and Citrus lumia" (1715) Oil on canvas

[k-i-l-l-e-r-b-e-e-6-9]

[paletapessoal]

Gold, mother-of-pearl and emerald pocket watch, c. 1720, Cabrier London

[artschoolglasses]

Coronet, English, early 18th Century

From the Victoria and Albert Museum

[royalty-nobility]

Portrait of Peter I of Russia

Artist: Godfried Schalcken (Dutch, 1643–1706

Date: 1703–1706

Place Created: Holland

Medium: Oil on Canvas

Collection: State Historical Museum, Moscow. Russia

Peter the Great

Peter I was Tsar of all Russia from 1682, and the first Emperor of all Russia, known as Peter the Great from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned jointly with his half-brother Ivan V until 1696. From this year, Peter was an absolute monarch, an autocrat who remained the ultimate authority and organized a well-ordered police state.

[desimonewayland]

Cream and blue marbled beaker in "zwischengold" glass technique

Dresden, early 18th C.

Lacquered and gilt double-walled glass (zwischengold) imitating polished, variegated marble

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

[desolatus]

Corset, C. Early 18th century

Spanish

Gift of Mr. Claggett Wilson, 1946

[my18thcenturysource]

Hi! I’ve been studying women’s portraits from the 1720s and have stumbled across a few with these underbust pieces. Nicolas de Largillière seems to have depicted them more than once, but when I saw an example from Louis de Silvestre I got curious! Unfortunately, I can’t find anything about them. Do you know anything about them? Thanks!

Hi!

This is pretty much "fancy dress", or we could think about them as "costumes". The choice of the outfits for these kind of portraits have more to do with symbolism and the figures that might the sitters represent, than with fashion.

So, these underbust/stays might very much not even have existed in the real world, and be drawn with references and the artist's imagination, or being something taken from the stage.

Instead of looking for the actual garment, you can look for what that particular design detail (the pointed center front) represents for the characters: is it a nod to armour? a nod to a shepherdess? a theatrical costume detail? I think there is more chance to find your answer this way.

Good luck and let us know when you find out!!

[somethingwithmoles]

Louis Dorigny (attributed to), Self-Portrait, between 1712 and 1730, oil on canvas, 92 x 77 cm, Museo Civico di Palazzo Chiericati, Vicenza

[jeannepompadour]

Illustration of Lucrecia, 18th century France

[ltwilliammowett]

Nocturnal, brass, gilt. Handle and pointer in form of sea serpents, English, late 17th or 18th century

This navigation tool, known as a nocturnal, was used to calculate time at night. Similar to an astrolabe or a sundial clock. A pointer, much like a hand on a  clock, determines the time at night based on the position of the North  Star in relation to another constellation, such as Ursa Minor (the  Little Dipper). But it is quite possible that this is a showpiece.

[life-imitates-art-far-more]

Louis de Silvestre (1675-1760) "The Formation of Man by Prometheus with the Aid of Minerva" (1702) Oil on canvas

[charlesreeza]

Chiesa Santa Maria della Rotonda - Noto, Sicily

This is one of three dozen notable Baroque churches in the town of Noto, but not one that draws many tourists. It happened to be near the B&B where I stayed. After the Sicilian earthquake of 1693 flattened the prosperous town, this was one of the first churches rebuilt. Rosario Gagliardi was the architect responsible for the building and its beautiful facade. The interior may have been painted with frescoes and bold colors at one time, but it is now refreshingly simple and bright.

Photos by Charles Reeza, April 2022

[paletapessoal]

Flemish stomacher, early 18th century