Friday, March 20, 2009

Vintage Ribbonwork Lingerie Case

I mentioned this lingerie case a couple posts back. I bought it several years ago from my friend Joan, who owns Mormon Trader Antiques (the brick & mortar storefront) and Estates & Remainders (which is estate liquidation portion of the business). At the time, I paid only $25 for this, which included what Joan calls the "family discount" for her friends, LOL. Take a look at this beauty.
The lingerie case is a creamy satin, inside and out. The pictures make it look white, but it's definitely a rich cream color. It's thickly padded and very luxurious. Inside there are two pockets (didn't take pictures of the inside - my bad) and the condition is near perfect.

It's getting more and more difficult to find nice specimens of ribbonwork from the twenties and thirties, but with this piece, I feel as though I struck gold. Helen Gibb, as I mentioned in a previous post, absolutely raved about piece, both workmanship and condition.

The gathered rose, above, is most intriguing. Helen said she'd never seen one like it. She took dozens of pictures of this case and asked me if it was OK to try to figure out how this was done. I hope she does, because it's not as simple as it might appear. There is padding in there.

What a lovely rosebud!

The leaves and stems are all pretty basic. The ribbons are all ombre silk. I wish I had some provenance with this piece, but sadly, I don't. Still, I treasure it and have never seen another one that comes close to it, in my estimation. Of course, I'm going shopping tomorrow for another ribbonwork piece; Joan said she'd bring in her inventory for me to "play" with. My hopes are high!
Cathy

13 comments:

  1. This is absolutely gorgeous! Thank you for sharing.

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  2. What an absolutely fantastic piece... the ribbon embroidery is indeed wonderful.... I'd like to give that rose a try too... and the bud is just delicious.

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  3. Hello Cathy My Dear, If Helen Gibbs figures out how those lovely ribbon flowers are created I reckon she should teach you and then you could give us a lesson. I have never seen anything soooo very beautiful. I look forward to seeing what you all bring home next. Hugs Judy

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  4. Beautiful! It looks cream to me! It's gorgeous! :)

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  5. This is absolutely a spectacular find Cathy!! Isn't it sad that so much of the beautiful stitching from years past has disappeared.

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  6. This is so beautiful, absolutely fantastic piece. Cathy, thank you so much for sharing...

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  7. Beautifull piece!!!!
    Hugs
    françoise

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  8. Hi Cathy,
    This is certainly an exquisite piece. Lucky you to own it. The ribbon work is so unusual... I loved that era as everything was so beautiful..
    xoxo
    ((((hugs))))
    Maggie

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  9. The roses on this lingerie cse are to die for! WoW! I also have never seen any made this way. Perhaps from a foreign bride? French? Anyway, the child's dress form was too good to pass up. As you said, they are rare, how did you let it go? Not to say your adult one isn't lovely but the other is so unique!

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  10. Absolutely stunning Cathy!! I wish you were coming too!! I can't thank you enough for posting this link. It's a great example of beautiful ribbonwork. I really would love to figure out how to make that rose that's gathered around the edges...too beautiful.

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  11. Wow - just beautiful! Lucky you!

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  12. These are such beautiful examples of work of another era. I just love those rolled petals. I hope you do find out how the gathered rose is made it is gorgeous.

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  13. What a beutiful and stunning piece of art. Lucky you to own such a treasure.

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