Bows and Breast-Knots in the 18th Century
Last updated: Jan 5, 2024
These links show various styles of breast knots and ornamental bows worn at the center front of the neckline of a lady’s dress. They begin to appear at about the midpoint of the 18th century and become more prevalent from the 1770s to the mid-1780s. They could be purchased ready-made to dress up a gown; the trade card of Mary and Jane Rickard offers “Stomacher & Sleeve knots,” among an assortment of fashionable wares they were selling in 1774.
(When looking for a style around a particular time period, pay attention to the width of the ribbon, the number of lobes on the bow, about how far across the bodice the lobes extend, the size of the tails, and whether the tails are pinked. Note whether the color matches the gown or other accessories, such as cap ribbons.)
Many of these bows tend to go over the neck handkerchief, especially when it is not tucked in. I've also included a few examples that are probably tying a garment closed, as well as examples that are part of a series of bows stitched down the front of a stomacher (as in An evenings invitation, for example).
- Portrait of a lady, c. 1725-1760
- Portrait of a lady, c. 1730-1760
- Jeanne-Elisabeth de Sellon, Lady Tyrell by Jean-Étienne Liotard, c. 1746
- Mary Norris (Mrs. Peter Ducane) by Arthur Devis, 1747
- Portrait of an old lady, c. 1750-1790
- Eleanor Frances Dixie by Henry Pickering, c. 1753
- Françoise Marguerite de Sévigné, Countess of Grignan by Alexander Roslin, 1753
- Mary Bethel Boude (Mrs. Samuel Boude) by Benjamin West, 1755-1756
- Mrs Prudence Rix by Thomas Gainsborough, 1756
- Ann Tyng (Mrs. Thomas Smelt) by John Singleton Copley, 1756
- Jane Browne by John Singleton Copley, 1756
- Julie de Thellusson-Ployard by Jean-Étienne Liotard, 1760
- Portrait of a lady, possibly Ann Burney
- Anne Fairchild Bowler (Mrs. Metcalf Bowler) by John Singleton Copley, c. 1763
- Mrs. John Amory (Katherine Greene) by John Singleton Copley, c. 1763
- Mrs. James Warren (Mercy Otis) by John Singleton Copley, c. 1763
- Mrs. Nathaniel Ellery (Ann Sargent) by John Singleton Copley, 1765
- Horace Walpole’s Nieces: The Honorable Laura Keppel and Charlotte, Lady Huntingtower by Allan Ramsay, 1765
- Margaretha Bachofen-Heitz, wife of the Basle ribbon merchant by Alexander Roslin, 1766
- Sarah Bogart Ray (Mrs. Richard Ray) by John Durand, c. 1766
- Izabela Lubomirska by Alexander Roslin, c. 1767
- Anne Catharine Hoof Green by Charles Willson Peale, 1769
- Mrs. William Coffin (Ann Holmes) by John Singleton Copley, c. 1770
- Lady Anne Furye, née Greenly by Thomas Gainsborough
- The artist Marie Suzanne Giroust by Alexander Roslin, 1770
- Priscilla (Hill) Montfort, 1770-1780
- Portrait of a lady, c. 1770-1790
- Portrait of a lady, c. 1770-1790
- The Artist's Sister, Anne Hogarth by William Hogarth, 1770-1771
- The Borris family by Anton Wilhelm Tischbein, c. 1770-1775
- Mrs. Ezekiel Goldthwait (Elizabeth Lewis) by John Singleton Copley, 1771
- Dorothy Quincy (Mrs. John Hancock) by John Singleton Copley, c. 1772
- Mrs. Richard Skinner (Dorothy Wendell) by John Singleton Copley, 1772
- Mrs. John Winthrop by John Singleton Copley, 1773
- The Virtuous Comforted by Sympathy by Edward Penny, 1774
- Mrs. Lushington by John Hamilton Mortimer, 1774
- Edward and Priscilla Wakefield with Mrs. Wakefield’s sister, Catherine Bell by Francis Wheatley, c. 1774
- Mrs. Bentley by Francis Wheatley, c. 1775
- Presumed portrait of the Duc de Choiseul and two companions by Jacques Wilbaut, c. 1775
- Portrait of Mme. de Privat de Molières and her children by Antoine Raspal, c. 1775-1780
- Grand Duchess Natalia Alexeievna of Russia by Alexander Roslin, 1776
- The Preposterous Head Dress, or the Feathered Lady by Matthew Darly, 1776
- Queen Charlotte by Benjamin West, 1777
- Princess Natalia Petrovna Golitsyn, born Tjernysjev by Alexander Roslin, 1777
- Mrs. Barclay and her children by Francis Wheatley, c. 1776-1777
- Mrs. Thomas Phipps by George Romney, 1780
- Lady Wearing a Large Cap, c. 1780
- Mrs. Samuel Chandler by Winthrop Chandler, c. 1780
- Unknown woman, possibly the Princesse de Lamballe by Alexander Roslin, 1780
- Portrait of a lady by Francis Alleyne, c. 1780-1785
- Mary Wilkes by Johann Joseph Zoffany, 1782
- Madame Grand (Noël Catherine Verlée) by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, 1783
- Portrait of the wife and son of the artist by Anton Wilhelm Tischbein, c. 1783
- Frances d'Arblay ('Fanny Burney') by Edward Francisco Burney, c. 1784-1785
- The Saithwaite Family by Francis Wheatley, c. 1785
- Sophia Charlotte Digby, Lady Sheffield by Thomas Gainsborough
- Hester Lynch Piozzi (née Salusbury, later Mrs Thrale), c. 1785-1786
- Eleanor and Margaret Ross by Alexander Nasmyth, c. 1785-1790