Tracing the History of a Doublet from the Kunstmuseum Den Haag Collection: Seventeenth, Eighteenth or Nineteenth Century?

Material analysis of a purported late sixteenth- to early seventeenth-century Italian doublet from the Fashion and Costume collection of the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in the Netherlands revealed discrepancies in its material composition, indicating a different timeframe. This paper summarizes research carried out on this doublet, initially identified as one of the earliest surviving complete doublets from the early seventeenth century. Through scientific material analysis (X-ray imaging, liquid chromatography (UHPLC-PDA-HMRS) and electron microscopy (SEM-EDX)) of the velvet, lining and the decorative elements, combined with an extensive literature review, the object as it is now was determined to have been likely constructed or transformed in the early nineteenth century. It may have originated as a woman's or man's doublet or made from original ciselé velvet for historical representations in theatres or masquerade festivities popular in the nineteenth century.