HRP 2008.036

This beautiful dress will be on loan from Historic Royal Palaces. 

It is a sacque gown, also known as a ‘robe à la française’. The muslin was made in India, a region long famous for the quality of its cotton textiles and is decorated with delicate botanical embroidery using threads of very pure silver. While sacque gowns had passed out of fashion by the 1780s, they were retained for formal events at court although it is unusual to see one made of cotton rather than silk.