Women's Fingerless Gloves - Mitaines

Mitaines are medium-length fingerless gloves that were very popular during the entire 18th century: they adorned and warmed forearms, which, as a rule, were uncovered. The embroidery on this pair is especially fine. This includes the use of flattened silver wire over yellow silk core wrought with fancy threads of gilded silver wire, as well as silver canetilles for the detailed decoration and patterning. The embroidery was done in flat stitches— in part on paperboard—as well as stem and satin stitch. Twined light blue silk was used in a decorative cross-stitch seam for the lining of the separately crafted thumb. The Mitaines are fully lined with two types of linen. The careful, partitioned distribution of the embroidered satin, with the embroidery “cut-off ” at the edges, suggests a secondary use of the precious, embroidered fabric elements.