The Minister’s ruling follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, run by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The Committee recommended that the export decision be deferred on the grounds that the waistcoat and banyan are of outstanding aesthetic importance and of outstanding significance for the study of dress history.
This unusual and striking matching man’s gown and waistcoat represents an exceptionally rare survival. The ensemble has been constructed from an earlier late seventeenth century Indian hanging or bedcover, which had been exotically embroidered in a bold ‘tree of life’ type design. The cream cotton grounds are very richly embroidered in chain stitch with scarlet, blue and purple exotic fruit and flowers, which are attached to rather spiky greeny-blue leaves, all edged and joined with scrolling stems in lustrous tamboured metal thread.
The decision on the export licence application for waistcoat and banyan will be deferred for a period ending on 24 February 2007 inclusive. This period may be extended until 24 May 2007 inclusive if a serious intention to raise funds with a view to making an offer to purchase the waistcoat and banyan at the recommended price of £21,525 (including VAT) is expressed.
Anyone interested in making an offer to purchase the waistcoat and banyan should contact the owner’s agent through:
The Secretary
The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council,
Victoria House,
Southampton Row
London WC1B 4EA
top
Notes to editors
1. Media enquiries on the operation of and casework arising from the work of the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA) should be directed to MLA Media Relations Manager, Anne Marie Todaro, on 020 7273 1472, or by email: annemarie.todaro@mla.gov.uk
2. The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest is an independent body, serviced by MLA, which advises the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on whether a cultural object, intended for export, is of national importance under specified criteria. Where the Committee finds that an object meets one or more of the criteria, it will normally recommend that the decision on the export licence application should be deferred for a specified period. An offer may then be made from within the United Kingdom at or above the fair market price.
3. Pictures of this item are available. Please email annemarie.todaro@mla.gov.uk (MLA no longer subscribes to the PixMedia website service)
4. Banyans or gowns were fashionable for men for a very long period stretching for 150 years from the late seventeenth to the early nineteenth centuries and they became an integral part of the male wardrobe. Their popularity stemmed from their looseness and informality, which enabled men to appear in public with far less restrictions, and to leave off their heavy wigs and coats. Instead it became acceptable socially to receive guests or conduct business domestically, whilst wearing a nightcap to cover the head and a gown over the shirt or waistcoat to replace the coat. A relatively untailored garment was thus adopted throughout British society as a way to relax and to avoid some of the rigidity of men’s daywear. It also reduced the amount of wear and tear on the extremely expensive suits and heavy wigs, which were difficult to clean and easy to crease or damage. The style became immensely popular in England after the Restoration, and by the early 1680s, Charles II and his Queen both had specific ‘Indian Gowne makers’. During the first half of the eighteenth century, stylish men often sat for portraits dressed in banyans, in their own gowns, or in those offered as props by the artist. They could then present a rather less formal, and more relaxed ‘artistic’ appearance.
5. Some of these banyans or ‘Indian gowns’ were made up in a fitted style out of imported Indian fabrics. Others were imported ready-made from India in either the T-shaped kimono style or in a fitted ‘house-coat’ type. Some gowns had matching waistcoats or attached waistcoat fronts. Reflecting the popularity of the style, there are consequently at least 22 banyans in British collections, and also at least five banyans worn in England in the Royal Ontario Museum collections. However, although a number of British collections include men’s banyans, they are all either woven silk or printed/painted cotton or linen. There is record only of a single embroidered Indian example which dates later, from around 1800, has meandering Rococo style embroidery, not the bold floral dramatic Baroque design on the banyan in question and was embroidered specifically for the Western market.
6. The waistcoat and banyan are in good condition, although there may have been some re-grounding in the eighteenth century, prior or during the making up of the gown and its waistcoat. The cream silk lining is distressed at the collar and shoulders, and there is some staining of the ground. Some restoration would be required before the waistcoat and banyan could be displayed.
