MetMuseum

Pair of gloves, ca. 1600
English
Leather; satin worked with silk and metal thread, seed pearls; satin, couching, and darning stitches; metal bobbin lace; paper

Portraits from the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries are replete with minutely detailed representations of garments and accessories decorated with emblematic motifs. The gauntlets of these gloves are embroidered with motifs which also appear on other objects made in the late Elizabethan era—a disembodied eye raining pale blue and silver tears, a colorful pansy flower, and a bright green parrot with pearls on its wings. The weeping eye is related to a contemporary emblem book, Henry Peacham’s Minerva Britanna, or A Garden of Heroical Devises of 1612, though this motif was known as a symbol of unrequited love well before the publication of Peacham’s book.

The pansy, watered by the tears of the weeping eye, was a popular flower in the Elizabethan era. It was known to be a favorite of the queen herself and the pansy continued to appear in embroidery well into the seventeenth century.

Despite the present fragile and somewhat degraded condition of these gloves, they retain enough of their sumptuous embroidery to convey the luxury of the highest quality needlework of the late Tudor and early Stuart era.

“a disembodied eye raining pale blue and silver tears”

“a disembodied eye raining pale blue and silver tears”

“a disembodied eye raining pale blue and silver tears”

In 1575 Queen Elizabeth I was offered Sovereignty of the Netherlands, which she refused. Ten years later Queen Elizabeth declined an offer of sovereignty again, this time by the Dutch commission for sovereignty of the Low Countries, but issued a declaration taking the Netherlands under her protection.

Elizabeth feared by taking sovereignty over the Netherlands she would set a precedent that other Monarchs could mess with the affairs of another Monarchs  (at the time the low countries were de-facto colonies of Spain.) By doing so, Philip could also have done the same thing with Ireland, therefore, Elizabeth decided against accepting sovereignty.

From the exhibit Pulp Fashion: The Art of Isabelle de Borchgrave. Borchgrave recreates historical fashion using nothing but paper and paint.

You can see more of de Borchgrave’s work here.

Elizabethan England Superstitions

Elizabethan England Superstitions / Elizabethan Superstitions

from http://www.elizabethanenglandlife.com

Superstitions are irrational beliefs. In England, during the Elizabethan era, there were also superstitions that they believed in, a handful of them actually still evident in our modern world. Not only were these believed by the common folk, they were also held true by even the nobility, up to the monarchy. Here are some of them:

In 1563, to prove how much they believed in this, the Witchcraft Act was passed to persecute those witches said to invoke evils spirits to commit murder. There were also a number of superstitions revolving around witchcraft:

a. Witches had the ability to fly using broomsticks.

b. Witches used a huge black pot or cauldron to make and brew their magic potions.

c. Witches had the ability to change into animal forms like cats, dogs, raven, etc.

The Effigy Corset belonging to Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1995, the effigy of Queen Elizabeth residing in Westminster Abbey was unclothed for study and repair to the garments in which she was dressed. Once the gown and hoopskirt (dating from the 17^th century) were removed, the effigy’s corset and drawers were visible for the first time since the 1930s.

The corset is edged with fine leather, originally apple-green in color, around the bottom, top and straps. The corset itself is made of fustian—a linen/cotton blend, woven in a twill pattern. The front and back sections appear to be finished on the back sides and whip-stitched together along these seam lines.

And, for this morning, we have Elizabethan-style Reproduction Gowns!

Men’s Shirt, Linen embroidered with silk thread. Courtesy of Victoria & Albert Museum.

Until the mid 20th century a man’s shirt was an item of underwear. However, those parts of it exposed when the wearer was fully dressed were often embellished. In this example, the collar and cuffs are embroidered in a pattern of stylised columbine and leaves in cross stitch. The embroidery continues on the seams of the sleeves and shirt body, even though these would not be seen. Collars and cuffs decorated in a similar way can be seen in portraits of men by Hans Holbein between 1535 and 1555.

Peter Paul Rubens, Anne of Austria c.1622-1625

Rubens paints Anne of Austria, Queen of France in an extremely patriotic dress of brilliant blue fleur de lys ornamented silk with a fleur de lys shaped bodice.

The dress, and portrait, are perhaps an attempt to solidify Anne’s position as Queen at a particularly uneasy time.  Her husband had never been particularly interested in her and blamed her for a series of miscarriages.  She had been unpopular with the people for refusing to give up her Spanish ladies in waiting and adapt to French ways, and had only recently been convinced to adopt French fashions.

The portrait celebrates Anne’s new look, and aims to present her in a flattering light to her husband and people.  The results in her life were mixed: her husband remained distant, but Anne did become a powerful, respected force at court.

In William Shakespeare’s time, the word “nothing” was slang for vagina. The reason for this strange nickname is because this part of the female sexual organ is round like a zero (0). Other fun Elizabethan terms included: “thing” for penis, “merry” when someone was sexually aroused, and “country matters,” which referred to matters pertaining to a women’s genitals. Something that the unacquainted may miss about Shakespeare is that his plays were often full of dirty jokes, using now-outdated slang, or simply jump making up his own words

Elizabethan Hairstyles for Women!