Fashion — 1850-1864
Girdle, performance girdle
Girdle of gilt metal and paste diamonds. Adelina Patti wore it in the bridal scene of Donizetti’s 'Lucia di Lammermoor', initially in 1861. She may also have worn it as Violetta in 'La Traviata' (1861) and as Marguerite in the jewel song in 'Faust' (1864).
It matches other items of jewellery in this collection: A23255/29, A23255/39, A23255/51, A23255/56, A23255/63, A23255/65 and A23255/66.
Adelina Patti (1843-1919) was a soprano born into a musical Italian family. She grew up in the Bronx in New York City. In 1861, aged 18, Patti performed to great acclaim at Covent Garden in ‘La sonnambula’ and appeared there in every season until 1884. She also sang worldwide, especially in Europe. The highest earning singer of her era, Patti married three times. One of the characters in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’ refers to ‘Patti singing divinely’, and Patti’s portrait was painted by Winterhalter, among others.
- Category:
- Fashion
- Object ID:
- A23255/64
- Object name:
- girdle, performance girdle
- Object type:
- Artist/Maker:
- —
- Related people:
- Related events:
- Related places:
- Production date:
- 1850-1864
- Material:
metal, paste
- Measurements/duration:
- DM 232 mm
- Part of:
- —
- On display:
- —
- Record quality:
- 100%
- Part of this object:
- —
- Owner Status & Credit:
Permanent collection
- Copyright holder:
digital image © London Museum
- Image credit:
- —
- Creative commons usage:
- —
- License this image:
To license this image for commercial use, please contact the London Museum Picture Library.