Coif and forehead cloth

This coif and forehead cloth are examples of blackwork embroidery in the early 17th-century style. It was worked with a single colour of silk, usually black, as seen here, but also blue, red or green on linen. After 1600, speckling stitch, comprised of tiny running stitches arranged to give a shaded effect, is used. Blackwork in speckling stitch imitates the graphic method used in woodblock prints to create three-dimensional shapes.

Surviving coifs and foreheads in matching patterns and inventories that list them together, suggest that these items of headwear were worn at the same time. However, it is still unclear just how the forehead cloth was worn, as there are very few portraits illustrating both.