Pair of Gloves
1600-1625 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Gloves served several purposes in early 17th-century England. Many were solely decorative, to display the wealth and status of their owner. They were worn in the hat or belt, as well as carried in the hand. Gloves were popular as gifts and were often given by a young gallant to his favourite mistress. In combat, a glove might be thrown down as a challenge.
Silver-gilt thread, coloured silks, silver bobbin lace, spangles (the 17th century term for sequins) and ribbons cover the densely embroidered satin gauntlets of these gloves, in patterns of birds, squirrels and flowers. Many of the designs that appear in Jacobean embroidery were copied from emblem books and botanical picture books, popular at the time.
Silver-gilt thread, coloured silks, silver bobbin lace, spangles (the 17th century term for sequins) and ribbons cover the densely embroidered satin gauntlets of these gloves, in patterns of birds, squirrels and flowers. Many of the designs that appear in Jacobean embroidery were copied from emblem books and botanical picture books, popular at the time.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Leather, with gauntlets of satin embroidered with silver-gilt and silk threads, trimmed with silver bobbin lace, spangles and ribbons |
| Brief description | A pair of gloves, 1600-25, English; Leather, silk gauntlet embroidered with silk & metal thread |
| Physical description | Embroidered in silk, silver-gilt and silver thread on satin, in long and short, and satin stitches, with couched work. On the six tabs are phoenixes and green birds resembling storks, with flowers. Below are two gold squirrels facing each other across a pink flower, with honeysuckle sprigs. There are fringes and trimming of gilt bobbin lace with spangles, and blue silk ribbon. |
| Dimensions |
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| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Gloves served several purposes in early 17th-century England. Many were solely decorative, to display the wealth and status of their owner. They were worn in the hat or belt, as well as carried in the hand. Gloves were popular as gifts and were often given by a young gallant to his favourite mistress. In combat, a glove might be thrown down as a challenge. Silver-gilt thread, coloured silks, silver bobbin lace, spangles (the 17th century term for sequins) and ribbons cover the densely embroidered satin gauntlets of these gloves, in patterns of birds, squirrels and flowers. Many of the designs that appear in Jacobean embroidery were copied from emblem books and botanical picture books, popular at the time. |
| Bibliographic reference | John Lea Nevinson, Catalogue of English Domestic Embroidery of the Sixteenth & Seventeenth Centuries, Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Textiles, London: HMSO, 1938, p.93 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 907&A-1904 |
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| Record created | December 15, 1999 |
| Record URL |
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