Pair of gloves

Unknown

second quarter 17th century · Leather, satin, lace · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

In 1629, a Venetian ambassador sent a shopping list to his colleague who was stationed in England, requesting "three dozen of their white summer gloves, without any embroidery, as plain as possible, but cut and pointed, and above all let them be white and thin." These gloves, though white, relatively plain, and perforated at the palms—presumably for summer months—would not have pleased the ambassador with their still-lush details in silk on satin. Silver stems, dazzling with spangles, connect needlepoint leaves that have been individually outlined in pink. Yet they, like the above request, reveal how gloves—however luxurious—were purchased and owned in multiples, swapped in and out according to season, taste, and occasion. -Sarah Bochicchio, 2020

Artist

Unknown

Date

second quarter 17th century

Medium

Leather, satin, lace

Culture

British

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Edward S. Harkness, 1928