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.
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.
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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 |
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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 created | July 17, 2008 |
Record URL |
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