Terms and Conditions
The artist, title and date of the work must be listed anywhere the image is reproduced:
Unknown
Muff (c. 1920)
fox fur, silk
6.5 × 30.0 × 23.0 cm
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Miss Irene Mitchell, 1981
Public domain
Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
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About this work
This fur muff first raised suspicions when it was selected for display. The uniformity of the colour of the pelt and strangeness of its features necessitated closer investigation. Beginning with x-radiography, NGV conservators were able to identify the fur as a construction: it is comprised of three sections with separately attached seamed tubes for the paws and ears. Additional fibre analysis of individual hairs using microscopy, coupled with advice from expert biologist Barbara Triggs, confirmed the pelt as a species of fox. As valuable furs became scarce in the early twentieth century, the use of cheaper skins that were dyed to look like expensive furs became accepted industry practice.
Artwork Details
Accession Number
D7-1981
Department
Australian Fashion and Textiles
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Professor AGL Shaw AO Bequest
Physical description
Black muff made from dyed fox fur with contstructed head, brown glass eyes and two simulated legs. Opening for hands is lined in ruched black silk.