Pavane pour une infante défunte little princess might, in former times, have danced at the Spanish court". The pavane was a slow processional dance that enjoyed great popularity in the courts of Europe during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This antique miniature is not meant to pay tribute to any particular princess from history, but rather expresses a nostalgic enthusiasm for Spanish customs and sensibilities, which Ravel shared with many of his contemporaries (most notably Debussy and Albéniz) and which is evident in some of his other works such as the "Rapsodie espagnole" and the "Boléro". Ravel dedicated the "Pavane" to his patron, the Princesse
Polonaise (clothing) such example was the witzchoura, a fur-lined cloak with sleeves sometimes described as being "à la Polonaise". In May 1868 the "Ladies' Monthly Magazine" published a coloured fashion plate showing a green silk dress with an asymmetrically opening front described as being made "à la Polonaise", along with a pattern for making it up. During the very late 1860s references to historical dress became fashionable, including draped overskirts loosely based on the 18th century "robe à la polonaise". In 1871 "Peterson's Magazine" stated that the polonaise was an overdress based on the 18th century sacque, with the bodice cut in