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Dance in Art
Theatre costume
Unknown
- Collection:
- Theatre costume
- Source:
- va
- Rights:
- V&A — check rights per item
Theatre costume, by Unknown, is a public-domain artwork in the LODance gallery of dance in art. It's one of thousands of historic images tracing how dancing has been seen and celebrated across the centuries.
What you are looking at
Two pieces of jewelry are displayed against a neutral gray background. On the left is a gold chain necklace with two stacked heart-shaped pendants set with red stones (likely rubies or garnets) and small diamond accents. On the right is an elaborate multi-strand pearl and diamond necklace with a large circular pendant featuring a starburst or sunburst design in pearls surrounded by diamonds, suspended from pearl strands interspersed with diamond spacers. Both pieces appear to be antique or vintage costume jewelry, photographed directly overhead to display their full forms and ornamentation.
The dance depicted
This image does not depict dance, dancers, or choreographed movement.
How it was made
This is a photograph, likely a museum or collection documentation image, showing the objects in sharp focus against a plain backdrop. The lighting is even and overhead, designed to display the jewelry's structure and decoration clearly. The photographic technique allows full visibility of both the metalwork and gemstone settings.
About this work
This is not a work of art in the sense of a painting, print, sculpture, or other artistic composition. It is a photograph of costume jewelry—two antique or vintage necklaces—likely created for museum or archival documentation purposes. There is no dance content, no theatrical context, and no choreographic imagery present. This item appears to have been misfiled or incorrectly included in a collection of dance-related artworks.
Where it lives
The catalogue identifies this as a 'Theatre costume' from an unknown artist and date, held in a collection labeled 'Theatre costume' with source 'va' (likely Virginia). The designation as a theatre costume is inconsistent with the image shown, which documents jewelry only, not wearable costume pieces in a theatrical context.
Questions about this work
Is this actually a theatre costume?
The catalogue record labels this as a theatre costume, but the image shows only two pieces of jewelry photographed for documentation. If these necklaces are theatre costume components, the photograph does not show them in use, worn, or in any theatrical context. The catalogue record may be incomplete or mislabeled.
What dances might use jewelry like this?
Costume jewelry with ornate necklaces appears in many theatrical and cultural dance traditions—classical ballet, Indian classical dance forms like Bharatanatyam, belly dance, and various diaspora and folk traditions. Without knowing the intended context or performer, the specific dance use cannot be determined.
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