Black silk mantel. Black silk overlaid with black net and embellished with frills, cording, ruffles, gathering and fine pleats. High neck and centre fastened with hook. Long lappets. The mantel is asymmetric, with the left hem sitting much higher than the right. The first plain black tier, just below the shoulder, is missing, and this appears deliberate as there are no visible repairs or alterations there.
Likely made during the late 1800s-early 1900s, the owner apparently wore it in the early 1900s.

Length 980mm.

A mantel is a cloak cape, but a mantelet is a shorter version which would be draped over a women’s shoulders to cover her clothes whilst outside. They were first worn in the 1100s and first mentioned in 1386 by Geoffrey Chaucer in ‘The Knight’s Tale’.