Pair of gloves

The motif of roses, birds and wheat sheaves decorating these gloves cannot be identified with any specific association. Although a Tudor symbol, the rose was such a favourite flower in Elizabethan and Jacobean textile and decorative design that very little can be read into its appearance. While the objects embroidered were not heraldic, they may have acted as personal devices. The tradition of symbolic images chosen for tournaments, also known as impresa, during the Elizabethan era carried over to the decoration of articles of adornment such as sleeves, gloves, earrings and pendants.

The sequins worked into the lace of this pair would have trembled and sparkled in the light as the wearer moved.