I can't give you any examples from the 15th century, but there are some images of this square-bottomed armscye from the 16th century, especially in Bruegel:
http://www.festiveattyre.com/research/images/back.jpg http://www.dia.org/the_collection/overview/viewobject.asp? objectid=35573 (the lady in the foreground on the left in grey--zoom in as much as possible, and you can barely see the horizontal seams) If anyone with an interest in the 16th century has a chance to see this painting in person, do so. It's amazing. How the sleeve is cut is hard to say, as I've never tried it. I'd guess that it does have corners but isn't actually rectangular at the top, because if it was cut that way and as tight-fitting as these images, it would be extremely awkward and wouldn't sit right. But it was done somehow, at least in the 16th--possibly a survival from the 15th? Melanie Schuessler _______________________________________________ h-costume mailing list [email protected] http://mail.indra.com/mailman/listinfo/h-costume
