Welsh Costume: K.E., South Wales, 1870-1899

Description

Title: Welsh Costume, South Wales with ‘Gower, Carmarthen, Swansea, Penclawdd.’ added in pencil.
Description: Group of 6 women, poorly painted. It is one of a pair – the other being six north Wales women.
(1) ‘Gower’ woman with tall hat with narrow brim; cap, shawl; gown (with tail hooked up) and skirt of the same fabric; good shoes
(2) ‘Carmarthen’ woman with Welsh hat, cap with broad ribbon tie; gown (with tail hooked up) and skirt of the same fabric; separate black sleeves; check apron, shoes and patens.
(3) (not identified but possibly Swansea) woman in top hat, cap, fine shawl.
(4) ‘Swansea’ seated woman with cap, short check bedgown, blue and white check apron, a light check skirt over a darker striped underskirt, shoes
(5) ‘Penclawdd’? Woman with a basket on a ?straw ‘coal-scuttle’ hat with a pad between; cap, red fringed shawl and check apron, no shoes.
(6) ‘Penclawdd’? Woman with staved container on her head; black straw ?cockle hat; check fringed shawl; broad-striped gown with tail hooked up; black striped apron, striped skirt, shoes.
Note: Although this image is rather naïve, the details of the costumes correspond well with surviving costumes from the south Wales coastal belt. The gown of the Carmarthen woman is like that of over 80 surviving examples; the check pattern of the seated woman is like that recorded on other illustrations and descriptions of costumes for the Swansea-Neath area and the woman on the right is wearing a costume like surviving examples associated with the Swansea cockle women (women at Penclawdd, on the north coast of the Gower, gathered cockles). The woman in the top hat is reminiscent of a painting of 'Mrs Gwyn', by George Orleans Delamotte, (1788- c.1835), watercolour, 1810-1825, NLW DV271, PB4886.
Medium: picture, watercolour
Size: 15.1 x 24.2 cms
Artist: K.E.
Date: unknown but probably late 19th century

• http://hdl.handle.net/10107/4755980 (link opens in new window)