Busk

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

A curved wooden busk, used to stiffen the bodice, was inserted between the breasts into an opening in the front of the corset. Busks were often elaborately trimmed with inlays of rare wood or mother-of-pearl. It was characteristic of the time that elaborate effort and craftsmanship were expanded on the decoration of an object that was rarely seen.

The Costume Institute

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Costume Institute's collection of more than thirty-three thousand objects represents seven centuries of fashionable dress and accessories for men, women, and children, from the fifteenth century to the present.

Metropolitan Museum of Art