This dolman-sleeved jacket was considered the epitome of luxury and good taste in the late nineteenth century. It would have been thought highly fashionable in combining fur as a trimming and a feather design in the fabric, elements from the natural world that fascinated society at the time.
Made in the fashion house of Emile Pingat from expensive materials, it was a garment that only a wealthy, society lady could afford. The Paris fashion house of Pingat (1860-96) was as highly esteemed as that of Charles Worth and known for superb craftsmanship and elegance.
The jacket is lined with machine-quilted satin so would have been warm to wear. It has a single hook fastened at the neck and was designed to fall straight down with a smooth line at the front, and for the back to sit neatly over the fashionably exaggerated bustle of the time.