- A seventeenth-century pomander and chain
- A parcel-gilt silver pomander, made in Italy in the 16th century; features a niello inscription
- Pomander, gold filigree, enclosing a ball of ambergris. 1600-1700
- Gold and Silver Pomander, 16th Century
***Pomander - a ball made of perfumes, such as ambergris (whence the name),musk, or civet. The pomander was worn or carried in a vase, also known by the same name, as a protection against infection in times of pestilence or merely as a useful article to modify bad smells. The globular cases which contained the pomanders were hung from a neck-chain or belt, or attached to the girdle, and were usually perforated and made of gold or silver. Sometimes they contained several partitions, in each of which was placed a different perfume.
In the Studiolo posts about Renaissance costume, history, architecture, decorative arts, portraits, books, and moves that take place in that time.
European Silk, metallic thread, and brass Doublet, ca. 1580 (via The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Doublet)
Interesting tidbit for today:
The world’s oldest revolver was made in 1597 by Hans Stopler in Nüremberg. Flintlock mechanism, 8 shots.
The Chained Library of Zutphen
I took these pictures during a visit to the 16th-century chained library of Zutphen, in the east of the Netherlands. It is one of three such libraries still in existence in Europe. Nothing much has changed here for 550 years.
More info: http://www.librije-zutphen.nl/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=14&Itemid=111
Posy Rings, and their history:
Okay, okay…so this particular example is about 100 years too late to be Elizabethan…but the history of the posy ring is interesting…
Gold ‘posy’ ring
England, 18th century AD
British Museum
‘Many are the stars I see but in my eye no star like thee’
The term ‘posy’, based on the French ‘poésy’, describes the amatory verse or rhyming motto with which the rings are engraved. Here the inscription reads: ‘Many are thee starrs I see yet in my eye no starr like thee’.
The practice of giving gold hoop rings engraved with mottoes at betrothals or weddings was common in England from the sixteenth century onwards, and continued until the late eighteenth century. ‘Posy’ rings could, however, be given on many other occasions as tokens of friendship or loyalty, and ‘posies’ are also found on religious and memorial rings. The inscription is generally found on the interior of the ring, hidden to everyone except the wearer. Most of the sentimental mottoes were taken from popular literature of the time, such as ‘chapbooks’ (pamphlets), or from collections on the language of courtship. A few customers would supply their own composition for the goldsmith to engrave.
The outside of the hoop was often decorated to enhance the message or to form part of the message itself. Coloured enamels could be used, or chased motifs, like the sixteen stars on this example. The inscriptions were usually enamelled in black, which makes them easier to read, although very few survive with all their enamel. The language and the style of the inscription helps us to date them.
S. Bury, An introduction to sentimental (London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1985)
C. Oman, British rings 800-1914 (London, Batsford, 1974)
O.M. Dalton, Catalogue of the finger rings, (London, British Museum, 1912)
J. Evans, English posies and posy rings (Oxford University Press, 1931)
Spanish Renaissance Mid 1500s by Thomas Ogden at Coroflot.com
(Source: coroflot.com )
Modern reproduction of an Elizabethan REBATO/ SUPPORTASSE/ UNDERPROPER for ruffs.
Today’s Highlight: Hoods of the Medieval, Tudor, and Elizabethan era!
Images courtesy of R. Turner Wilcox, The Mode of Hats and Headdresses, 1945.
Thank you, Village Hat Shop!
Today’s Highlight: Hats of the Elizabethan and Early Jacobean era!
Images courtesy of R. Turner Wilcox, The Mode of Hats and Headdresses, 1945.
Thank you, Village Hat Shop!
Today’s Highlight: Hairstyles of the Elizabethan and Early Jacobean era!
Images courtesy of R. Turner Wilcox, The Mode of Hats and Headdresses, 1945.
Thank you, Village Hat Shop!
