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Pair of Gloves

1610-1620 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This pair of unpicked gloves serves as a useful illustration of the construction of 17th century gloves. The hand is cut in one piece and folded down the thumb side of the hand. Long narrow pieces of leather, called fourchettes, are sewn in to form the sides of the fingers, with tiny lozenges, called quirks, at the base of each finger.

The tabbed gauntlet is typical of the period 1610 to 1620. These gloves show how they were held in place with gussets of silk. The contrast in colour between the leather outside and inside indicates that the kidskin was dyed brown. The thumbs, now missing, were each a single piece of leather. Glovemakers cut several pairs of gloves from a single skin, all pieces carefully arranged to make maximum use of the leather with minimum waste.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Glove
  • Glove
Materials and techniques
Kidskin, silk, silver-gilt thread, silk thread; hand sewn, hand embroidered, hand lacemaking
Brief description
Pair of gloves, embroidered leather, 1610-1620, British; pink silk gauntlet, unpicked, thumb missing
Physical description
A pair of unpicked kidskin gloves, dyed brow, with applied dark pink silk satin tabbed gauntlets, couched with silver-gilt thread and purl, and embroidered with coloured silks in a stylized floral pattern. The tabs are lined with coral-pink silk with blue silk gussets, and edged with silver-gilt bobbin lace and spangles. Thumb pieces are missing.
Dimensions
  • 1316 1900 length: 31.5cm (approx)
  • 1316 1900 width: 13.7cm (approx)
  • 1316 a 1900 length: 30.5cm (approx)
  • 1316 a 1900 width: 12.7cm (approx)
Summary
This pair of unpicked gloves serves as a useful illustration of the construction of 17th century gloves. The hand is cut in one piece and folded down the thumb side of the hand. Long narrow pieces of leather, called fourchettes, are sewn in to form the sides of the fingers, with tiny lozenges, called quirks, at the base of each finger.

The tabbed gauntlet is typical of the period 1610 to 1620. These gloves show how they were held in place with gussets of silk. The contrast in colour between the leather outside and inside indicates that the kidskin was dyed brown. The thumbs, now missing, were each a single piece of leather. Glovemakers cut several pairs of gloves from a single skin, all pieces carefully arranged to make maximum use of the leather with minimum waste.
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.92
Collection
Accession number
1316&A-1900

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Record createdJuly 17, 2008
Record URL
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