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Unknown
Mourning dress (c. 1882)
wool (serge), silk
67.0 cm (centre back) 37.0 cm (waist, flat)
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
The Schofield Collection. Purchased with the assistance of a special grant from the Government of Victoria, 1974
Public domain
Photo: National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
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Mourning dress
(c. 1882)
Medium
wool (serge), silk
Measurements
67.0 cm (centre back) 37.0 cm (waist, flat)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
The Schofield Collection. Purchased with the assistance of a special grant from the Government of Victoria, 1974
Public domain
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Although black was commonly worn to signify grief, mourning practices became widespread in Victorian times following Queen Victoria’s reaction to her husband’s death in 1861. Consequently, loose traditions developed into a complex array of signs, customs and symbols, extending from dress etiquette to funerary custom, to fixed periods of seclusion that reached across all classes.
These two hastily made mourning dresses invite morbid speculation. What were the circumstances leading to their production? What was the nature of their relationship to the deceased?
Artwork Details
Accession Number
D171-1974
Department
Australian Fashion and Textiles
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