#early 18th century

[life-imitates-art-far-more]

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

[jeannepompadour]

Isabel Farnese, Queen of Spain ,early 18th century

[ltwilliammowett]

Crown Compass, Lübeck, Danemark, 1735

The compass card is inscribed Berendt Burmester , Lubeck 1735 and the glass is inscribed with Freja and Aarhus

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

[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

[greencheekconure27]

Some details from Maria Sybilla Merian's Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensum (1705)

(I'm afraid my phone camera isn't quite doing it justice but still.)

@onenicebugperday

[arinewman7]

Enjoying Coffee

Artist Unknown

oil on canvas, early 18th century

[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!!

[paletapessoal]

Flemish stomacher, early 18th century

[18th-century-mental-health]

Since I'm in a naval mood, have my three favourite pirates

[life-imitates-art-far-more]

Giacomo Ceruti (1698-1767) "Women Working on Pillow Lace (The Sewing School)" (1720s) Oil on canvas Baroque Currently in a private collection

[jeannepompadour]

Portrait of Lucy Parke Byrd (1685-1716), 1700s-1716

[ltwilliammowett]

Pirates Haunt Cocos Islands, by Montague Dawson (1890–1973)

[somethingwithmoles]

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

[desimonewayland]

Armchair, made in Paris circa 1720

Carved and gilded beech wood

Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris