Military ensemble
According to the donor, this ensemble was worn by Obedeak [sic] Herbert, a Continental Naval Admiral of the Revolutionary War. This form of jacket, the tail coat, persisted first, as men's everyday wear and, later, as formal attire throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. The epaulettes retain sense of delicacy and refinement as handmade objects. The silk on the underside is padded and sewn into a roll at the edge to enhance the shape of the tassels as they fall over the shoulders. The tape on the other end is meant to tie into corresponding studs on the shoulders of the jacket. The phrase on the medallion of the bicorne, "E Pluribus Unum" (translated as "Out of Many, One") was submitted by the committee Congress as part of a design for the seal for the United States of America in 1776, which, upon revisions, was passed as the official seal in 1782. The phrase was considered the motto of the United States until 1956 when it was replaced with the motto, "In God We Trust."
Artwork Details
- Title: Military ensemble
- Date: 1776–83
- Culture: American
- Medium: wool, linen, silk, metal, paper, feather, wood
- Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Celeste H. Chasmer, 1922
- Object Number: 2009.300.2683a–e
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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