Man’s Frock Coat, 1740

Rococo

Man’s frock coat in silver-hued, silk brocade decorated with a floral motif of tiny pomegranates, covering the entire surface of the piece. Fitted to the waist with a full flare in the tails, it closes at the front with rich, silver-coated buttons.

This formal frock coat is in line with the typical frock coats worn by men in the decade of 1740. The flared coattails were heavily interlined with crinoline and stuffing to puff up the hips, partially following the female forms achieved with the pannier. The pomegranate, a widely used decorative motif in Spanish iconography from far earlier, broke away from the rhomboid structures of the past at this time to follow an ascendant pattern of wavy lines more typical of the 18th century designs.

Inventory: MT-014796

Bibliography

• In Historical Fashion in detail. The 17th and 18th Centuries, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1998, pag. 44-45, we find a frock coat of similar characteristics.