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Gauntlet

1625-1650 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Gloves in the early 17th century were either plain and practical, or richly embroidered and intended for showing off. This detached gauntlet, along with its lost mate, would have been sewn to the cuffs of a pair of leather gloves. The dense, three-dimensional quality of the embroidery, using coils of metal thread and a special technique of padded and raised stitches, was popular between the 1620s and 1650s.

A range of popular flowers such as roses, borage, carnation and pansies, with grapes and thistles, are typical motifs in British embroidery at this time.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Embroidered linen canvas with silk, silver and silver-gilt threads, hand-sewn and hand-embroidered
Brief description
Gauntlet of embroidered linen canvas with silk, silver and silver-gilt threads, England, 1625-1650
Physical description
Gauntlet of embroidered linen canvas with silks in shades of green, red, yellow, blue and white in tent stitch, over which is worked raised and padded detached buttonhole stitch in coloured silks. The whole design is embellished with silver and silver-gilt thread and purl. The pattern consists of scrolling stems bearing pansy, foxglove, honeysuckle, carnation, rose, thistle and grapes. The raw edges have been turned and roughly tacked. Unlined.
Dimensions
  • Overall width: 29.2cm (approx.)
  • Overall length: 13cm (approx.)
Style
Credit line
Bequeathed by Frank Ward
Subjects depicted
Summary
Gloves in the early 17th century were either plain and practical, or richly embroidered and intended for showing off. This detached gauntlet, along with its lost mate, would have been sewn to the cuffs of a pair of leather gloves. The dense, three-dimensional quality of the embroidery, using coils of metal thread and a special technique of padded and raised stitches, was popular between the 1620s and 1650s.

A range of popular flowers such as roses, borage, carnation and pansies, with grapes and thistles, are typical motifs in British embroidery at this time.
Collection
Accession number
T.241-1960

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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