What Lies Beneath: An Inside Study of the Cut and Construction of K.2015.85
AIM: To study the cut and construction of K.2015.85 in order to better understand these stays
HOW: Have the stays X-rayed. Study the stays in the light of the X-rays. Compare stays cut and construction to M.57.24.1 from LACMA. Compare K.2015.85 & M.57.24.1 to other stays, using the key details found on these two stays. Sample methods found by creating a replica. Sample that replica with 18th gowns to better understand key details.
CONCLUSION: The conclusion to this project is aimed at becoming a paper and a personal report will be completed in 2025.
The Project
This all started with a trip to Scotland and an unanswered question. When I was going through the standard procedure of completing notes from previous study session, I was re-studying K.2015.85 and began to take a little bit more note than during my first study session. These were rather extraordinary stays. The sheer depth and constructional effect of the front panel were startling and as I was attempting to take a pattern, it just got to a stage when I simply couldn’t. I had to keep putting down my pencil, chew my lip for a while and then try it from a different angle.
The problem wasn’t the taking of the pattern. The problem was I couldn’t make out the construction. The side panel, to all appearance, seemed to sweep in beneath the front peak and made it look like it was this that was making it SO VERY 3D. This was almost a killing moment as had I not raised my frustration to the assistant curator, she might not have suggested the possibility of an X-ray. My dilemma was, without a pattern there was no point in attempting a replication as I’d have to guess half of it. A few hours later I was driving back from the airport at Bristol with a whole 3 hour drive ahead of me, this gave me plently of time to start chewing over how to find the money to sponsor an X-ray. My mind kept going over and over again with ‘LORD, could I get funding somewhere and actually turn this into a proper project?’.
