Smocks & partlets in portraits.
Gads, while my 'net connection has been down more often than, er, nevermind... I've been getting a head cold it seems. I keep sneezing a lot today, and am feeling very cold warm right now.
Anyway, I am posting the following info, because I want to translate it into a page on my site, and will forget where I stuck the email that I just mailed off. It is on partlets and smocks, and how to see the differences in some of the paintings (with examples). This subject has come up twice now, in two different places, so I may as well put a page up on it, even tho I will freely admit, the info did not originate with me. That lovely SCA Laurel from Costume College 2004 was the one who first opened my eyes on this. I only know her as Rondinella Olsen, her mundane name. {I bet if she did a google search, she would think I was stalking her or something.}
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Hans_Holbein_d._J._033.jpg
This is a late Henrician one. High necked smock in white, with a black partlet lined in white. {There are other Henrician partlets to point to, but most of them are of self fabric to the gown, or white, and can be hard to see any smock line under them. But I should try to hunt up a few more in the Henrician time frame.}
http://www.kimiko1.com/research-16th/FrenchHood/1570/KatherineVaux.html
This one, I am presuming the underlying blackworked upper chest portion is a smock. It might not be. But it is covered in a "partlet" that has a different blackworked design. It is a little confusing that the partlet blackwork pattern is repeated in the overgown lining, too.
http://www.kimiko1.com/research-16th/FrenchHood/1580/NobilisFeminaFrancica.html
Now this is more like what the Laurel showed us. I know it is a woodcut, but the little frill at the curve of the chest is what is presumed to be a smock edge. The partlet is pretty clearly shown as an open front. The images the Laurel showed us were color images, and I think one of them was of Queen Elizabeth.
Ah, finally found some of Queen Elizabeth I that were what she was showing us. And they are large enough to see the details.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Elizabeth1_Phoenix.jpg
Click on it to get the really large image. Look at the center of the chest area. You will see across the horizontal area a cream/white area, trimmed in black lace, that also has blackwork done on it. This design of both lace and blackwork is different than the two angled edges of the partlet worn over the smock. The painted texture of the partlet is also different, appearing more mesh-like, or maybe representing metal threads woven into the fabric. Whatever it is, it covered the edges of the smock completely.
http://www.naergilien.info/pelicandiary/Pelicanportrait.jpg
This one is big and pretty clear. It is the Pelican portrait on the cover of QEWU if you don't want to click on it. My hazy memory says this is the one the Laurel pointed out to the class, as I remember her commenting on the gold lace on the edges. The smock edge that is horizontal is mostly gold with some black. The blackwork that can be seen is of some sort of plants. The diagonal edges are mostly black threads with some gold, and the blackwork pattern near those edges are a geometric design. You can see the geometric pattern continue over the smock pattern at the sides. This clearly shows that the two are different garments. What is unclear is if the matching partlet sleeves are directly attached or not.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Nicholas_Hilliard_018.jpg
This one does get bigger. In this one the smock edge is blackworked, and it goes up on the sides following the band of the gown edge (which is an interesting edge treatment, since it has rounds with jewels). Anyway, the blackworked edges are clearly a square necked smock. The partlet is almost invisible in this image, until you look for the diagonal edges. It appears that the partlet is of white lace or white linen with some lace work done (cutwork maybe); hard to tell really in this image what the partlet is, but the edge of it is painted to show shadows of the edge on the diagonal.
Anyway, I am posting the following info, because I want to translate it into a page on my site, and will forget where I stuck the email that I just mailed off. It is on partlets and smocks, and how to see the differences in some of the paintings (with examples). This subject has come up twice now, in two different places, so I may as well put a page up on it, even tho I will freely admit, the info did not originate with me. That lovely SCA Laurel from Costume College 2004 was the one who first opened my eyes on this. I only know her as Rondinella Olsen, her mundane name. {I bet if she did a google search, she would think I was stalking her or something.}
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Hans_Holbein_d._J._033.jpg
This is a late Henrician one. High necked smock in white, with a black partlet lined in white. {There are other Henrician partlets to point to, but most of them are of self fabric to the gown, or white, and can be hard to see any smock line under them. But I should try to hunt up a few more in the Henrician time frame.}
http://www.kimiko1.com/research-16th/FrenchHood/1570/KatherineVaux.html
This one, I am presuming the underlying blackworked upper chest portion is a smock. It might not be. But it is covered in a "partlet" that has a different blackworked design. It is a little confusing that the partlet blackwork pattern is repeated in the overgown lining, too.
http://www.kimiko1.com/research-16th/FrenchHood/1580/NobilisFeminaFrancica.html
Now this is more like what the Laurel showed us. I know it is a woodcut, but the little frill at the curve of the chest is what is presumed to be a smock edge. The partlet is pretty clearly shown as an open front. The images the Laurel showed us were color images, and I think one of them was of Queen Elizabeth.
Ah, finally found some of Queen Elizabeth I that were what she was showing us. And they are large enough to see the details.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Elizabeth1_Phoenix.jpg
Click on it to get the really large image. Look at the center of the chest area. You will see across the horizontal area a cream/white area, trimmed in black lace, that also has blackwork done on it. This design of both lace and blackwork is different than the two angled edges of the partlet worn over the smock. The painted texture of the partlet is also different, appearing more mesh-like, or maybe representing metal threads woven into the fabric. Whatever it is, it covered the edges of the smock completely.
http://www.naergilien.info/pelicandiary/Pelicanportrait.jpg
This one is big and pretty clear. It is the Pelican portrait on the cover of QEWU if you don't want to click on it. My hazy memory says this is the one the Laurel pointed out to the class, as I remember her commenting on the gold lace on the edges. The smock edge that is horizontal is mostly gold with some black. The blackwork that can be seen is of some sort of plants. The diagonal edges are mostly black threads with some gold, and the blackwork pattern near those edges are a geometric design. You can see the geometric pattern continue over the smock pattern at the sides. This clearly shows that the two are different garments. What is unclear is if the matching partlet sleeves are directly attached or not.
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Nicholas_Hilliard_018.jpg
This one does get bigger. In this one the smock edge is blackworked, and it goes up on the sides following the band of the gown edge (which is an interesting edge treatment, since it has rounds with jewels). Anyway, the blackworked edges are clearly a square necked smock. The partlet is almost invisible in this image, until you look for the diagonal edges. It appears that the partlet is of white lace or white linen with some lace work done (cutwork maybe); hard to tell really in this image what the partlet is, but the edge of it is painted to show shadows of the edge on the diagonal.