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The yellow mantua on display in the Crown and Couture exhibition at Kensington Palace © Historic Royal Palaces
The yellow mantua on display in the Crown and Couture exhibition at Kensington Palace © Historic Royal Palaces
A loan request came in from Historic Royal Palaces for our beautiful yellow mantua dress to be part of an upcoming exhibition. The loan was duly approved and the mantua is now one of 200 objects on display in the gorgeous exhibition Crown to Couture at Kensington Palace which runs from 5 April to 29 October 2023.
A mantua or court mantua is a two-metre-wide formal dress from the 1760s. To wear it required balancing, walking, twisting and circling and would have taken practice and skill! This yellow mantua was said to have been worn at a Holyrood ball in 1760 by Helen Robertson of Ladykirk. To find out more about what mantuas were and where they would have been worn, discover the story of one of our other mantua's here.
A garment that is over 250 years old will undoubtedly have some areas of wear and tear and areas of fragility. Before the mantua travelled to London, our textile conservation team carried out a careful condition inspection, made copious notes and completed repairs to any areas of weakness.
Viewing the mantua hem using a specialist light.
Careful inspection and repair of the yellow mantua's hem.
Detail showing the construction of the mantua.
Tools and equipment used for repairs on the mantua.
Detail showing the fine scalloped edges and design on the mantua.
Detail showing more of the construction of the mantua.
Once the condition checking had taken place, the mantua was then carefully packed into special travelling boxes, using tissue paper.
The yellow mantua being packed for travel to London.
The yellow mantua being packed for travel to London.
Once the mantua had arrived at Kensington Palace, it then had to be carefully unpacked and installed on the specially designed mannequin for display. This wasn't a task for one person, it requires careful handling and it took three conservators from the team at Historic Royal Palaces to do this!
Opening one of the boxes with part of the yellow mantua.
Taking the yellow mantua out of the box.
Lifting the mantua out of the box took three people!
Putting the mantua skirt on the specially designed mannequin.
Completing installation of the mantua skirt on the mannequin.
250 years on from its first appearance, the yellow mantua is now once again gracing the rooms of a royal palace. It's been a long journey, from condition checking, to being packed for travel, then unpacked and installed on a mannequin. Fortunately, today, seeing the wonderful yellow mantua is not just restricted to those attending a royal ball, you can see it with 200 fascinating objects in Crown to Couture exhibition at Kensington Palace from 5 April to 29 October 2023.
The yellow mantua on display in Crown and Couture at Kensington Palace © Historic Royal Palaces
