Pair of gloves

Unknown

ca. 1600 · Leather, satin worked with silk and precious metal thread, seed pearls; satin, couching, and darning stitches; metal bobbin lace; paper · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

The weeping eye. green parrot, and shimmering pansies adorning this pair of gloves indicate they were originally intended as a love token. In the Tudor period, the exchange of gifts was an essential rite of courtship. Gloves appear as fashionable accessories in the portraits of both men and women from the period, as in Marcus Gheeraerts's portrait of Ellen Maurice (also in The Met's collection, 2017.249).

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1600

Medium

Leather, satin worked with silk and precious metal thread, seed pearls; satin, couching, and darning stitches; metal bobbin lace; paper

Culture

British

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Edward S. Harkness, 1928