Pair of leather gloves with embroidered satin with silver and silver-gilt threads, silk and lace, England, 1600-1625

Pair of leather and satin gloves embroidered with motifs of roses, birds and wheat sheaves in silks. With large gauntlets, each having six square tabs. The gauntlets are lined with pink silk and are covered on the outside with white satin and embroidered with silver and silver-gilt threads, metal strip purl and coloured silks in satin, long and short and outline stitches, French knots and couched work. Edged with silver-gilt bobbin lace and sequins. On the back and front of each gauntlet is a flower in an oval medallion, flanked by birds, flowers and wheat ears.

Bequeathed by Sir Frederick Richmond, Bt

This magnificant pair of early seventeenth-century gloves has been densely embroidered with motifs of roses, birds and wheat sheaves to create a richly textured surface. The spangles (sequins) worked into the lace would have trembled and sparkled in the light as the wearer moved.

The motif of roses, birds and wheat sheaves cannot be identified with any specific association. Although a Tudor symbol, the rose was such a favoured flower in Elizabethan and Jacobean textile and decorative design that very little can be read into its appearance. While the objects were not heraldic, they may have acted as personal devices. The tradition of symbolic images chosen for tournaments, also known as impresa, during the Elizabethan era carried over to the decoration of articles of adornment such as sleeves, gloves, earrings and pendants. Scenting articles of dress was standard practice. Gloves along with other items of clothing including stockings, shifts and shoes were perfumed with fragrances derived from animal sources such as ambergris, civet and musk, floral oils extracted from orange, jasmine, lily and other blossoms, as well as spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves.

The motif of roses, birds and wheat sheaves decorating these gloves cannot be identified with any specific association. Although a Tudor symbol, the rose was such a favourite flower in Elizabethan and Jacobean textile and decorative design that very little can be read into its appearance. While the objects embroidered were not heraldic, they may have acted as personal devices. The tradition of symbolic images chosen for tournaments, also known as impresa, during the Elizabethan era carried over to the decoration of articles of adornment such as sleeves, gloves, earrings and pendants.

The sequins worked into the lace of this pair would have trembled and sparkled in the light as the wearer moved.

T.42&A-1954