The Mother and child delightfully show women’s fashion in the 1820s. The mother wears the voluminous sleeves of the 1820s. The period name for these sleeves was gigot – now they are often called leg-o-mutton sleeves. The sleeves start very low on the shoulder and balloon out to the elbow where the fabric is gathered and made tighter to the wrist. The sleeves were actually stuffed with horse-hair to make them stand away from the arm and body—wouldn’t that be fun to wear during the heat of the summer! Before 1830, dress bodices stopped at the natural waist, usually with a sash or belt above a full skirt. After about 1835, the bodice dropped to a V shape to better accent a small waist. A delightful hairstyle of the mid-to-late 1820s was the Apollo knot where the hair was pulled into a tall knot (the taller the better) on the top of the head and usually held there by a tall haircomb. We can’t see this lady’s comb but it is likely there. It is hard to say whether this child is boy or girl since both genders wore dresses at this young age. The figures are cut from a dark grey paper with highlighting painted in black and gold. It is hard to see in the photo but the child wears a string of beads painted in black. This wonderful conversation piece is housed in a likely original, period walnut veneered frame measuring 11 3/4" x 14 1/8", with a sight size 7 7/8" x 10 1/8" Circa 1825, possibly from the Hubard Gallery. We are offering Grandma and the older girl in a separate listing.

#6686     Sold

Please see the Silhouettist Bios page for more information about William James Hubard and the Hubard Gallery.