THE MET
Golden Wool Military Epaulets with Bullion Fringe
Empire / Regency · 1800s-1810s · Italian
Production
handmade
Material
wool with metallic thread
Culture
Italian
Influences
Napoleonic military dress · French Empire uniform standards
A pair of elaborate military epaulets featuring dense bullion fringe construction in golden wool with metallic thread. Each epaulet displays a circular padded base with radiating twisted cord fringe that creates dramatic movement and catches light. The construction shows typical Napoleonic-era military ornamentation with heavy use of gold bullion work. The fringe measures approximately 3-4 inches in length, creating substantial visual weight. The circular bases appear to have embroidered or woven decorative elements at their centers. These represent the height of Empire period military dress uniform accessories, designed to convey rank and ceremonial importance through their elaborate handcrafted construction and precious metallic materials.
jacket
Connected To
Worn with·military dress uniformTechnique·metalworkFunction·military-uniform
SHARED70 years · cross-culture · cross-category
These pieces speak the same language of military pomp across seven decades and an ocean. The golden epaulets' cascading bullion fringe and the bicorne's elaborate gilt tassels both deploy that distinctly 19th-century logic where more ornament equals more authority—the kind of decorative excess that announced rank from across a parade ground.
Text66%
Image68%
Worn with·dress coat
SHAREDsame era · cross-culture · cross-category
These pieces reveal how Napoleonic-era formality operated on different registers of the same visual language. The epaulets' cascade of golden bullion fringe and the waistcoat's high-buttoned torso both sculpt the male silhouette into that distinctly Empire period shape — broad shoulders tapering to a cinched waist — but one announces military rank while the other whispers civilian refinement.
Text
Technique·metalworkFunction·military-uniform
SHARED410 years · cross-culture · cross-category
Text44%
48%
Technique·metalworkFunction·military-uniform
SHARED150 years · cross-culture · cross-category
Text49%
Echoes Across Time
Empire / Regency → Victorian Late / Bustle · 70yr66%
SHARED
These pieces speak the same language of military pomp across seven decades and an ocean. The golden epaulets' cascading bullion fringe and the bicorne's elaborate gilt tassels both deploy that distinctly 19th-century logic where more ornament equals more authority—the kind of decorative excess that announced rank from across a parade ground.
Worn with·military dress uniformTechnique·metalworkFunction·military-uniform
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