0:00:02 > 0:00:04Clothes are the ultimate form of visual communication.
0:00:04 > 0:00:06By looking at the way people dressed,
0:00:06 > 0:00:08we can learn not only about them as individuals,
0:00:08 > 0:00:10but about the society they lived in.
0:00:11 > 0:00:14I'm Amber Butchart, fashion historian,
0:00:14 > 0:00:16and in the words of Louis XIV,
0:00:16 > 0:00:19"I believe that fashion is the mirror of history".
0:00:20 > 0:00:25So, taking historical works of art as our inspiration,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29traditional tailor Ninya Mikhaila and her team will be recreating
0:00:29 > 0:00:33historical clothing using only authentic methods...
0:00:33 > 0:00:36Oh, look at that! It's changing colour in the air.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40..and I'll be finding out what they tell us about the people who wore them...
0:00:40 > 0:00:43I'm assuming the king wouldn't be dressing himself, though, right?
0:00:43 > 0:00:45..and the times they lived in...
0:00:47 > 0:00:49..and seeing what they're like to wear.
0:00:53 > 0:00:54Ah!
0:00:58 > 0:01:02For almost 200 years, this painting was described simply
0:01:02 > 0:01:04as a portrait of Lady Elizabeth Murray
0:01:04 > 0:01:08and it was assumed her unidentified companion was a maid.
0:01:09 > 0:01:13Only in the 1980s was it discovered that, far from being a servant,
0:01:13 > 0:01:18the other girl was in fact Lady Elizabeth's cousin, Dido Elizabeth Bell.
0:01:19 > 0:01:23Hers is a story that takes us from the slave ships of the Mediterranean
0:01:23 > 0:01:26to the heart of Georgian high society.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29When I look back through the history of Western art,
0:01:29 > 0:01:33what I'm inevitably confronted with is a lot of faces
0:01:33 > 0:01:34that look like mine,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36ie they're white.
0:01:36 > 0:01:40So what really drew me to this portrait of Dido and Elizabeth
0:01:40 > 0:01:44is the fact that it's so unusual to see a picture
0:01:44 > 0:01:46from this time that depicts
0:01:46 > 0:01:49a black subject and a white subject with equal status.
0:01:49 > 0:01:54There is something about Dido that I find incredibly human and really
0:01:54 > 0:01:58compelling, and I also think that from the tiny amount I know
0:01:58 > 0:02:00about her back story already
0:02:00 > 0:02:06that it's going to lead us into some much darker areas in the history of
0:02:06 > 0:02:12fashion, and I'm really keen to confront those areas and to explore
0:02:12 > 0:02:14them further. From what can be seen,
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Dido's dress appears both elegant and simple,
0:02:17 > 0:02:21but I'm interested to find out from Ninya what type of gown it may be.
0:02:21 > 0:02:26This portrait - dress-wise, a little bit of an enigma, isn't it?
0:02:26 > 0:02:32- It is.- It is quite difficult to work out exactly what she's wearing.
0:02:32 > 0:02:34What are your thoughts here?
0:02:34 > 0:02:39There are so many possibilities with how we could interpret that garment.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42Unfortunately, like so many portraits,
0:02:42 > 0:02:46we can't see her back and it's particularly obscured by all these
0:02:46 > 0:02:50kind of layers of sashes and things in exactly the places where we would
0:02:50 > 0:02:53look for clues as to how it's constructed.
0:02:53 > 0:02:56And this sort of basket of fruit that she's carrying, as well.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01- Yeah.- Do we have any other portraits that we can sort of compare in terms
0:03:01 > 0:03:04of types of garment that we think she might be wearing?
0:03:04 > 0:03:08Yeah, there are, actually, helpfully, lots of paintings of 18th-century women
0:03:08 > 0:03:12wearing these more relaxed exotic styles and, helpfully,
0:03:12 > 0:03:15they're not all holding something in front of them like Dido is.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17- Great!- So this lady here, for example,
0:03:17 > 0:03:20you can see how very loose in cut this gown is.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23It's a simple crossover
0:03:23 > 0:03:24and I do think that the neckline
0:03:24 > 0:03:27that Dido's got there, with this V-shape,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29can only be achieved in the 18th century, really,
0:03:29 > 0:03:32by having a crossover wrapping front.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Yeah. This is very, very similar, isn't it?
0:03:34 > 0:03:37Yeah, I think that's a real strong contender
0:03:37 > 0:03:39for how the front would look if we could see it.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42Now, some of the reading I've been doing about this portrait
0:03:42 > 0:03:44describes it as silver
0:03:44 > 0:03:47and it's my understanding that at this time silver was quite
0:03:47 > 0:03:49a popular colour for wedding dresses.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52- Wedding dresses would have been a bit more formal than this.- Mmm.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55What kind of fabric do you think this is?
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Well, I don't believe it is silver.
0:03:58 > 0:04:03I've got a sample here of some silk that has silver thread woven into it
0:04:03 > 0:04:09and it doesn't drape in the same way that I think the fabric Dido is wearing drapes.
0:04:09 > 0:04:10It's quite stiff -
0:04:10 > 0:04:14because the only way to incorporate silver into a silk fabric
0:04:14 > 0:04:19in the 18th century was to weave actual threads of silver, so it's metal.
0:04:19 > 0:04:21- Right.- And although it's a soft metal,
0:04:21 > 0:04:23it still changes the nature of the fabric.
0:04:23 > 0:04:28- Yeah.- And I think this is too stiff for what we want to achieve with Dido.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Yeah. It almost stays into the shape that you fold it, doesn't it?
0:04:31 > 0:04:33- It does, yeah. - It's that...kind of stiff.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37- It's lovely, it's beautiful and it would make a lovely formal wedding dress.- Yes.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39- But that's not what we're doing.- No.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42So what I think we should be looking at is satin.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Silk satin is really a very, very typical choice for these kinds of
0:04:46 > 0:04:52- informal robe and wrapping gown and a-la-Turque styles.- Yeah.
0:04:52 > 0:04:58I think we definitely want a satin that's a very cool kind of ivory, possibly,
0:04:58 > 0:05:02or even a light grey, which could be interpreted as silver,
0:05:02 > 0:05:03but not ACTUAL silver.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09We have very little information with which to piece together Dido's story,
0:05:09 > 0:05:13but what we do know is that she was born in 1761,
0:05:13 > 0:05:17the illegitimate daughter of Captain John Lindsay and Maria Bell,
0:05:17 > 0:05:22an enslaved African woman on a Spanish ship captured by Lindsay.
0:05:22 > 0:05:24At some point in her infancy,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28Dido was sent to live with her father's uncle, Lord Mansfield,
0:05:28 > 0:05:33Britain's Lord Chief Justice and one of the most powerful men of his day.
0:05:33 > 0:05:37I'm keen to find out if the portrait can unwrap any secrets of Dido's
0:05:37 > 0:05:41life, so I'm meeting art historian Vicky Coltman at Scone Palace,
0:05:41 > 0:05:44Lord Mansfield's birthplace, where the painting now hangs.
0:05:44 > 0:05:48Now, I've completely fallen in love with this portrait,
0:05:48 > 0:05:53but I'm very interested to hear you contextualise this for me.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57How unusual is this for a late 18th-century portrait?
0:05:57 > 0:06:00Well, in terms of later 18th-century British art history,
0:06:00 > 0:06:03this is a really atypical image,
0:06:03 > 0:06:08mainly because we have these two women, one with a black complexion,
0:06:08 > 0:06:10one with a white complexion,
0:06:10 > 0:06:13presented more or less as social equals
0:06:13 > 0:06:18and it's extremely rare to find that on canvas because what we're dealing
0:06:18 > 0:06:24with in this period is a long pictorial tradition of black servant
0:06:24 > 0:06:28portraiture, in which they're shown as very much subservient to their
0:06:28 > 0:06:29female mistresses.
0:06:29 > 0:06:35And what we see here is an image from that mid-17th century period
0:06:35 > 0:06:36which is absolutely typical.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40We have here this black servant on the right.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44Also notice how he's looking up towards the female sitter.
0:06:44 > 0:06:49And, really, he's there to say to you and I, the external viewers,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51"Direct your gaze to her".
0:06:51 > 0:06:56So he becomes a kind of interlocutor for her beauty.
0:06:56 > 0:07:01And so, if we then leap forward over 100 years,
0:07:01 > 0:07:06what we can see immediately is how there's none of that subservience.
0:07:06 > 0:07:10I think this is an image that speaks of things like sisterhood,
0:07:10 > 0:07:12companionship.
0:07:12 > 0:07:17One theory is that Dido has maybe been dressed in clothes that aren't
0:07:17 > 0:07:22- her own to highlight some kind of exoticism.- Mm-hm.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24Do you think that could be the case?
0:07:24 > 0:07:27So, Dido's dress... So what people have made of this,
0:07:27 > 0:07:32and you're quite right, is they've looked at the turban and they've
0:07:32 > 0:07:36suggested that her dress may be indebted to the idea of masquerades,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38which are very popular at this time,
0:07:38 > 0:07:41which are kind of fancy dress parties.
0:07:42 > 0:07:46I'm not so sure. But what we can say is that it looks to me to be very
0:07:46 > 0:07:49shiny and glimmery for a day dress,
0:07:49 > 0:07:53so I think it is unlikely that she's going to be in the poultry yard or
0:07:53 > 0:07:55the dairy wearing this dress.
0:07:55 > 0:08:01I, personally, am slightly sceptical of the sort of over-exoticised
0:08:01 > 0:08:06- readings of this portrait. A lot has been made of the turban.- Mmm.
0:08:06 > 0:08:10The turban was very fashionable headgear at the time, I think,
0:08:10 > 0:08:15and definitely due to it being a sort of slightly exotic object,
0:08:15 > 0:08:20but I think that that doesn't necessarily confer on Dido this kind
0:08:20 > 0:08:22of exotic, objectified status.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25And that would also fit in with the style of dress,
0:08:25 > 0:08:29from what we can work out from the actual portrait itself.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31And the fact that it's more dynamic -
0:08:31 > 0:08:35she's not wearing any kind of panniers or hoops under her skirts
0:08:35 > 0:08:37in the way that Elizabeth is.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41I find Dido as a subject much more compelling.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44She looks like the one who's fun, the one who I want to hang out with,
0:08:44 > 0:08:46the one that I want to spend time with.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50I absolutely agree. I think Dido looks incredibly mischievous, actually.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52I'd much rather hang out with Dido.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57While I'm finding out about Dido's life,
0:08:57 > 0:09:01Ninya is trying to discover more about the style of her dress.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05What's really frustrating about Dido is that her bowl of fruit and her
0:09:05 > 0:09:08- sashes and her arm are all exactly...- In the crucial area, yeah.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11..in the point that would really tell us what's going on with that.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14- Yeah.- Because the other possibility that you were playing with...
0:09:14 > 0:09:17- Was it this one or the...? No, this one.- Oh, the back, yes.
0:09:17 > 0:09:21..was that the back might be cut as a loose sack-back.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Yes, to give it a bit more fullness below and also because that's a
0:09:24 > 0:09:27- fashionable element.- You know why I don't think it can be a sack-back?
0:09:27 > 0:09:33I've just thought of this, is because the way that this top edge of the pleats is covered up
0:09:33 > 0:09:37in the 18th century is with an extra strip...
0:09:37 > 0:09:41- Yeah.- ..which then goes down here and it's the robing, isn't it?
0:09:41 > 0:09:44- And it's a classic... - She doesn't have it.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48..look and it doesn't fit with anything else in the cut of that twirl, so,
0:09:48 > 0:09:50yeah, I was uncomfortable about that, thank you.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55- The other possibility is that something like this jacket...- Yeah.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00- That's very simple, isn't it? - Yes.- And actually quite loose.
0:10:00 > 0:10:04If you imagine that as full-length and this gusset here expanding out...
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Well, I kind of had that thought, too, and I like that.
0:10:07 > 0:10:08I did put that back onto this one.
0:10:08 > 0:10:13- Oh, that's that one?- Yes! But it hasn't worked, Ninya, look.- Oh.
0:10:13 > 0:10:17It's kind of... It's nice, the back is nice and the seams are nice,
0:10:17 > 0:10:19but the way it hangs down now,
0:10:19 > 0:10:22it's neither one thing nor another, that, so...
0:10:23 > 0:10:25Yeah. It doesn't work for me.
0:10:25 > 0:10:30That garment is not a classic Western garment like her cousin is wearing.
0:10:30 > 0:10:35- It IS different and think that's the point - they're making her different.- Mmm.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39So we don't know whether she had that herself or whether it was part
0:10:39 > 0:10:42of the painter's clothing.
0:10:42 > 0:10:44We don't know anything about it, sadly, do we?
0:10:44 > 0:10:47We don't know the story that led up to the painting
0:10:47 > 0:10:49and what her thoughts were.
0:10:49 > 0:10:54And we assume she was put into that to make a contrast,
0:10:54 > 0:10:55but she might have chosen it.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57And what's this one?
0:10:57 > 0:10:59That is a bed gown.
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Do you think that's a possibility?
0:11:01 > 0:11:03It is.
0:11:03 > 0:11:05I think you're going to have to do another twirl!
0:11:05 > 0:11:06SHE LAUGHS
0:11:10 > 0:11:11Well, we have the new twirl.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14What I really like is this all-in-one...
0:11:14 > 0:11:17- Yes.- ..sleeve. I think it's just the most convincing.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20Yeah. And hers isn't actually huge.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24- Some of them are very big, but hers is not.- You could probably make that a little bit...- Smaller?
0:11:24 > 0:11:25- Smaller.- And that definitely.
0:11:25 > 0:11:27And that tight. That's really snug on her, isn't it?
0:11:27 > 0:11:30Yes, and it really runkles down.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35- It must have a little button or something there, I think.- Yeah. Yeah.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38- Three twirls lucky! - Oh, thank goodness!
0:11:38 > 0:11:39THEY LAUGH
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Raised by the Mansfields, alongside her cousin Lady Elizabeth,
0:11:44 > 0:11:47Dido grew up in luxury at Kenwood House,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50a world away from the experiences of most black people
0:11:50 > 0:11:52in England at the time.
0:11:52 > 0:11:55SI Martin is an expert on black British history
0:11:55 > 0:11:59and I'm hoping he can tell me more about Dido's life at Kenwood.
0:11:59 > 0:12:03This is, you know, a far cry from the way that most people
0:12:03 > 0:12:05in Georgian Britain would have grown up.
0:12:05 > 0:12:07But I would imagine that,
0:12:07 > 0:12:09for a black woman, it's especially unusual.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12There was something very particular about Dido's situation,
0:12:12 > 0:12:15though it wasn't unique. There were other black people,
0:12:15 > 0:12:17particularly people of mixed background,
0:12:17 > 0:12:23who had - similar to Dido's own parentage - one white male father
0:12:23 > 0:12:27and usually a black enslaved mother, who were lucky enough to enjoy some
0:12:27 > 0:12:30degree of the luxuries that Dido would have enjoyed.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33But it's true to say that her experiences overall were very different from
0:12:33 > 0:12:37the vast majority of black people living in Britain at the time.
0:12:37 > 0:12:42- And she worked within the grounds as well, didn't she, at the home?- Yeah.
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Was that usual?
0:12:44 > 0:12:47Yeah. Work of the sort that Dido was engaged in,
0:12:47 > 0:12:50low-level household duties, looking after the dairy,
0:12:50 > 0:12:54working with Lord Mansfield, note taking, light accounts -
0:12:54 > 0:12:57these would be the occupations of a gentlewoman of the period
0:12:57 > 0:13:00and perhaps Dido considered herself as such.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03But they wouldn't have been the duties with which the lady
0:13:03 > 0:13:06of the house would have bothered herself and I doubt very much
0:13:06 > 0:13:11if Lady Elizabeth would have had anything to do in those domains at all.
0:13:11 > 0:13:16One interesting feature of the likeness of Dido in the painting
0:13:16 > 0:13:21is that she is wearing both a turban and an ostrich feather.
0:13:21 > 0:13:22Yeah.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24And although, at the time,
0:13:24 > 0:13:27the wearing of turbans had become quite fashionable among some parts
0:13:27 > 0:13:34of the upper classes, it's also a signifier for a lot of young black people in domestic service.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37So Dido's life here at Kenwood - her family,
0:13:37 > 0:13:41the relationships that they had - she was clearly cared for.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44Although we know that she was fawned on,
0:13:44 > 0:13:51and that she was a great favourite and confidante of Lord Mansfield,
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Dido is illegitimate.
0:13:53 > 0:13:58She did not always dine with her blood relations, as they were.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01She is definitely outside family.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04This would have been a very difficult issue,
0:14:04 > 0:14:06just to negotiate socially and culturally.
0:14:06 > 0:14:09To meet others outside the family, even within the family,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13it would have caused problems and that would have set her apart.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16I'm starting to get more of a sense of Dido's world,
0:14:16 > 0:14:20but I feel that many of the details of her life are still hidden.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22Last time I saw Ninya,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24details of the dress were proving equally elusive,
0:14:24 > 0:14:28so I'm looking forward to finding out what decisions have been made.
0:14:28 > 0:14:34This is the pattern. It's a very common style amongst various ethnic
0:14:34 > 0:14:35garments across the world.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39It's the idea that you want to use as much of the material as possible,
0:14:39 > 0:14:42have no wastage at all, because materials are very expensive and
0:14:42 > 0:14:44time-consuming to make
0:14:44 > 0:14:48and it's making the most of the materials as you cut, so planning ahead.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51So, if you look at this, this is...
0:14:52 > 0:14:55..the neck. It's going to come out of there.
0:14:55 > 0:14:57- Ah, yeah.- This is the sleeve.
0:14:57 > 0:14:59- And this is the body.- Great.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04And this piece that we cut out of there to make the sleeve fits very
0:15:04 > 0:15:07cunningly down here.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10- Ah, that's clever, isn't it?- Yeah. To increase the size of the skirt.
0:15:10 > 0:15:11Oh, I see.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13The joy of it is, because it's such a simple cut,
0:15:13 > 0:15:16all the beauty is going to come from the material itself.
0:15:16 > 0:15:20- Oh, and it is so beautiful, this satin.- It is wonderful.- Excellent.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22I cannot wait to see it.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26- Wow, look at that.- So you can see how you could interpret that as silver.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29- Yeah. Absolutely.- And it's not, it's just pure silk, but...
0:15:29 > 0:15:31It does look silvery, doesn't it?
0:15:31 > 0:15:35- Yeah.- It really does.- It's very pleasing.- It's a very pale grey.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38But it's pure silk, and there's no actual metal thread in it,
0:15:38 > 0:15:41so it's going to be ever so soft and drapey and gorgeous.
0:15:41 > 0:15:44Yeah, it's just absolutely beautiful.
0:15:44 > 0:15:46It has wonderful depth, doesn't it?
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Yeah. It really does, it really does.
0:15:50 > 0:15:51So this is looking very exciting.
0:15:51 > 0:15:55Yes, I've done about six versions of this turban.
0:15:55 > 0:15:56Wow.
0:15:56 > 0:16:00But using muslin rather than the real silks.
0:16:00 > 0:16:05So, here, I'm just doing the draping of this line here.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08So would you like to have a go at trying to emulate that pleat there?
0:16:08 > 0:16:10Yeah. I would love to.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13So, you want to pull this back on itself, like that.
0:16:13 > 0:16:14OK.
0:16:14 > 0:16:18So... And then will it all be pinned...?
0:16:18 > 0:16:20- Yeah.- How is it going to be sort of secured?
0:16:20 > 0:16:23Once we've played around with it and draped it happily,
0:16:23 > 0:16:28then I'll sew it so that you can't see the stitching.
0:16:28 > 0:16:30I see. Right, right.
0:16:30 > 0:16:32Which will also be helped with disguising it
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- because of the jewels on her turban.- Yeah.
0:16:35 > 0:16:39So if there are any stitches that can't be helped but to be seen,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41then they will be covered with jewels.
0:16:41 > 0:16:43Right. So...
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Oh, that looks fab. I love those pleats. So, just pin it a bit here.
0:16:48 > 0:16:51So that... It doesn't move.
0:16:51 > 0:16:57Now, my instinct is to try to make it a bit more elaborate and use this
0:16:57 > 0:16:59to create some kind of, like,
0:16:59 > 0:17:01fan shape at the side or at the back,
0:17:01 > 0:17:04but that wouldn't be quite accurate, would it?
0:17:04 > 0:17:07No, this is quite a subtle little addition, I think.
0:17:07 > 0:17:11You don't always need so much accessorising to...
0:17:11 > 0:17:15I have to disagree. THEY LAUGH
0:17:15 > 0:17:17So, will this all form the lining?
0:17:17 > 0:17:19Will we be tucking this in on itself...
0:17:19 > 0:17:20- Yes.- ..to create the lining?
0:17:20 > 0:17:25- And then, once it's all pinned, I'll sew around the outside.- Mm-hm.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28So it will be like a proper brim.
0:17:28 > 0:17:30Yeah. This is fun.
0:17:30 > 0:17:34- This bit - you can see immediate returns...- Yeah!
0:17:34 > 0:17:37..doing this. It's quite satisfying.
0:17:37 > 0:17:42I think that's rightly pinned, so we'll just put it on there.
0:17:42 > 0:17:43Look at that. Lovely.
0:17:43 > 0:17:45- I'm happy with that.- Yeah.- Yeah.
0:17:47 > 0:17:50Very little written evidence of Dido's life exists,
0:17:50 > 0:17:53but she does appear in the household account book
0:17:53 > 0:17:54still held at Kenwood House
0:17:54 > 0:17:57and I've been given special permission to see them.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01I'm here in the glorious surroundings,
0:18:01 > 0:18:03this amazing neoclassical room,
0:18:03 > 0:18:07which is the library that Dido would have spent quite a lot of time in.
0:18:07 > 0:18:11What I've got here is some of the household accounts
0:18:11 > 0:18:15and so, in here, we do get some very small glimpses of Dido's life.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20"Dido, quarter allowance due October the fourth, £5."
0:18:20 > 0:18:26So she was given £20 a year, paid in quarterly instalments.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Towards the end of the 1780s,
0:18:28 > 0:18:35Dido's allowance was also supplemented by birthday gifts and Christmas gifts as well.
0:18:35 > 0:18:36We can see one here.
0:18:36 > 0:18:41"To Dido at Christmas, by Lord Mansfield's order."
0:18:43 > 0:18:46Now, this one is probably my all-time favourite.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48"Washing and glazing Dido's bed."
0:18:48 > 0:18:52Now, what that tells us is that likely her bed
0:18:52 > 0:18:56was decorated with chintz hangings.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59Now, chintz was glazed fabric and was very,
0:18:59 > 0:19:00very fashionable at this time as well,
0:19:00 > 0:19:04so it does give us a sort of insight into Dido's world,
0:19:04 > 0:19:06into Dido's life here.
0:19:08 > 0:19:12While the account books give us a tantalising peek into Dido's home life,
0:19:12 > 0:19:16we get a more tangible insight from the diary of Thomas Hutchinson,
0:19:16 > 0:19:18an American visitor to Lord Mansfield.
0:19:20 > 0:19:23"A black came in after dinner and sat with the ladies and,
0:19:23 > 0:19:26"after coffee, walked with the company in the gardens,
0:19:26 > 0:19:29"one of the young ladies having her arm within the other.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33"She is neither handsome nor genteel - pert enough.
0:19:35 > 0:19:38"He calls her Dido, which I suppose is all the name she has.
0:19:38 > 0:19:41"He knows he has been reproached for showing fondness for her -
0:19:41 > 0:19:43"I dare say not criminal."
0:19:44 > 0:19:48Hutchinson's attitude highlights Dido's position perfectly.
0:19:48 > 0:19:50She was well-loved by her family,
0:19:50 > 0:19:53but, as the daughter of a slave in 18th century England,
0:19:53 > 0:19:57she was never going to be accepted as their social equal.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00The fact is that, when this portrait was painted,
0:20:00 > 0:20:03Britain's participation in the slave trade was at its height.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09By the 18th century, demand for English cotton was booming.
0:20:09 > 0:20:10Easily washable and colourful,
0:20:10 > 0:20:14it was becoming the fashion fabric of choice for the middle classes
0:20:14 > 0:20:19and a valuable trading commodity, driving the Industrial Revolution.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22However, the great wealth this brought the nation
0:20:22 > 0:20:25was built upon enslaved labour in Britain's colonies.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30To find out more, I'm meeting historian Alan Rice.
0:20:32 > 0:20:36So, how important to the cotton industry around here
0:20:36 > 0:20:40was slave-produced cotton from America?
0:20:40 > 0:20:42Well, in the 1780s and 1790s,
0:20:42 > 0:20:47slave-produced cotton started exploding onto the scene here,
0:20:47 > 0:20:54so a town like Manchester and its environs becomes a kind of world centre of cotton production
0:20:54 > 0:20:58and that kind of bursts through and helps to fuel
0:20:58 > 0:21:00what becomes the Industrial Revolution.
0:21:00 > 0:21:05And how important was the cotton industry for the British economy?
0:21:05 > 0:21:10Very, very important. If you look at 1780,
0:21:10 > 0:21:152-3% of the exports from Britain are finished cotton goods.
0:21:15 > 0:21:19By the 1820s, 1830s, it's gone up to 22-23%.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22So it's exceptionally important for the British economy,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24in that it's a fifth of the economy.
0:21:24 > 0:21:27Also a seventh of the population, the working population,
0:21:27 > 0:21:30- are working in cotton-based industries...- Right.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33..in the mid-19th century.
0:21:33 > 0:21:41We don't tend to think of Britain as having such involvement in slavery
0:21:41 > 0:21:44because, with America, you can still go and visit the old plantations
0:21:44 > 0:21:47- and there's more of a sort of physical legacy.- Mmm.
0:21:47 > 0:21:51But here, what we tend to forget, I think,
0:21:51 > 0:21:54is that there is such an economic legacy of slavery.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57The late 18th century is that moment
0:21:57 > 0:22:00when Britain is the most active slaving power.
0:22:00 > 0:22:05Liverpool is going into a frenzy of slave trading
0:22:05 > 0:22:07and is the largest slave port in the world.
0:22:07 > 0:22:11So, Dido's mother, Maria - we don't know much about her.
0:22:11 > 0:22:15We know she was on a Spanish slave ship at some point.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18What would life have been like for her?
0:22:18 > 0:22:21Well, life would have been pretty grim.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24She'd be chained in the hold of a slave ship -
0:22:24 > 0:22:28usually 300-400 people in a very close space -
0:22:28 > 0:22:31often the women separated from the men
0:22:31 > 0:22:35so that they're available for the crew and the captain.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40And they'd only been brought up from the hold once a day,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43maybe twice a day for exercise,
0:22:43 > 0:22:46and they would be made to dance at those points,
0:22:46 > 0:22:47to keep their limbs moving.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51We don't know much about the specific ship that Maria was on.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54We know it was captured by Captain Lindsay
0:22:54 > 0:22:58and that he took Maria under his wing.
0:22:58 > 0:23:03Now, we know nothing about that kind of relationship, other than the fact
0:23:03 > 0:23:09that it ended up with him having a black daughter with Maria -
0:23:09 > 0:23:14Dido Belle. And out of the millions of black women
0:23:14 > 0:23:17taken on board slave ships,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20and their immediate descendants,
0:23:20 > 0:23:24I think it's an incredible thing that we have a likeness
0:23:24 > 0:23:27and a portrait of one of those individuals.
0:23:27 > 0:23:31Most of those lives, we have nothing to remember them by.
0:23:38 > 0:23:39As Lord Chief Justice,
0:23:39 > 0:23:44Dido's great uncle was one of the most powerful legal voices of the century.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48His ruling granting freedom to an escaped slave, James Somerset,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51is considered one of the most significant milestones
0:23:51 > 0:23:53of the abolition movement.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56In his will, as well as leaving her some money,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01Lord Mansfield wrote, "I confirm to Dido Elizabeth Belle her freedom."
0:24:02 > 0:24:04Despite his landmark ruling,
0:24:04 > 0:24:10slavery wasn't abolished in the British Empire for another 40 years.
0:24:10 > 0:24:14No-one was more aware of Dido's precarious position than her great uncle.
0:24:17 > 0:24:21At times, learning about Dido has been an emotional experience
0:24:21 > 0:24:23and I'm looking forward to seeing the gown of this once-forgotten
0:24:23 > 0:24:26vivacious young woman be brought back to life.
0:24:35 > 0:24:38Oh, wow!
0:24:38 > 0:24:40Oh, my God!
0:24:40 > 0:24:45The iridescence of the silk is just amazing, isn't it?
0:24:46 > 0:24:49It's like a pearl, isn't it? Yeah, it's really beautiful.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53I feel like I'm about to go to a costume ball in the 1920s.
0:24:56 > 0:24:58I was not expecting that at all.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01I was very sceptical of this idea that she may have been dressed
0:25:01 > 0:25:04with a specific costume purpose in mind,
0:25:04 > 0:25:07whether it was being dressed by the artist or whether it was the idea
0:25:07 > 0:25:10that this wasn't her actual clothing, but putting it on...
0:25:12 > 0:25:15..I feel very, very differently about that idea.
0:25:15 > 0:25:18And it's not just that I'm wearing historic clothing,
0:25:18 > 0:25:20that it feels like a costume,
0:25:20 > 0:25:26but it's the drapery and the fact there is a kind of orientalised idea, I suppose.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28It's very non-functional, isn't it?
0:25:28 > 0:25:29That isn't a shawl to keep you warm.
0:25:29 > 0:25:31- Yeah.- It's there to just make you look nice.
0:25:31 > 0:25:33But it's also...it is very...
0:25:33 > 0:25:36I do wonder how much of an artistic affectation that shawl is.
0:25:36 > 0:25:39I mean, if we experimented, for example, with taking this off,
0:25:39 > 0:25:42- and then you'd see the lovely sleeves as well.- Aw, aw!
0:25:42 > 0:25:46- Sleeves are so beautiful. - It is actually in the painting that the blue is very subtle.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48- It's muted, yeah. - It's just touches, isn't it?
0:25:48 > 0:25:51- Which is slightly distracting, but...- I think it's nicer without.
0:25:51 > 0:25:54Does it feel less fancy dressy now, or does still feel fancy dressy?
0:25:56 > 0:25:59It feels slightly less fancy dressy, but, I mean, it's beautiful.
0:25:59 > 0:26:04The extra length, it just means that you can see the rouching
0:26:04 > 0:26:09and the way that would have sort of sparkled in candlelight.
0:26:09 > 0:26:14- Creating something where there are creases shows off the satin to the best.- It really does.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16It is a very beautiful satin.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19- You could just watch it drape for hours.- Mmm, mmm.
0:26:19 > 0:26:21It's quite hypnotic.
0:26:23 > 0:26:24Anna, how do you feel about the turban?
0:26:24 > 0:26:27I think it was quite successful, actually.
0:26:27 > 0:26:31It's definitely got that hat-like feel, rather than a turban.
0:26:31 > 0:26:35Yeah. There's so much in the painting that you can't see
0:26:35 > 0:26:38that I think all you can say is it's one of the possible solutions,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41and it's definitely a successful solution and a plausible one,
0:26:41 > 0:26:45- but it's not necessarily what she was wearing in the painting.- Yeah.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49- It could have been one of our other theories, couldn't it?- Yeah.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52I do want to just lounge around in this forever.
0:26:52 > 0:26:55- I just wish we had a ball to send you to.- I know.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57THEY LAUGH
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Why do I never have a ball to go to?
0:26:59 > 0:27:01THEY LAUGH
0:27:01 > 0:27:05Wearing this gown as we've interpreted it
0:27:05 > 0:27:10has actually changed my mind about my theories around Dido
0:27:10 > 0:27:13and around what she's wearing in this portrait.
0:27:13 > 0:27:18Initially, I was really quite certain that she was wearing a version of fashionable dress,
0:27:18 > 0:27:23a version of dress that was just becoming fashionable.
0:27:23 > 0:27:24You know, slightly more informal,
0:27:24 > 0:27:28with these sort of orientalised elements to it.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32However, having worn the ensemble,
0:27:32 > 0:27:35I'm not so sure that that's the case any more.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39It did feel quite like wearing a costume.
0:27:43 > 0:27:48Dido still remains tantalisingly just out of reach
0:27:48 > 0:27:51and, in some ways, I feel a bit disappointed
0:27:51 > 0:27:55that we haven't fully got to the bottom of this story.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59I feel very close to Dido and I feel like I've kind of let her down.
0:27:59 > 0:28:05I do feel like it's sort of symbolic of wider issues within history at
0:28:05 > 0:28:09times, especially reflecting marginalised histories that are more
0:28:09 > 0:28:11difficult to find out about.
0:28:11 > 0:28:15There's more work that needs to go into this
0:28:15 > 0:28:18and I feel like we will get there with Dido -
0:28:18 > 0:28:20I feel like there is more information out there -
0:28:20 > 0:28:24and it will just take a bit more time and a bit more research.