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Source Description

According to Elizabethan embroidery scholar Jacqui Carey, construction of this woman’s coif is typical of the period, as is its design. The coif is a single piece of embroidered plain weave linen, cut in the usual way. The embroidery features pomegranate, honeysuckle, rose, carnation and acorn motifs set within stylized undulating stems and foliage. Most of the embroidery is worked with two distinct types of metal thread (thin metal strips wrapped around a silk core)—gilt thread and silver thread which has tarnished to black. Black silk thread also is used for the embroidery. Nine different stitches are used on the coif, including Elizabethan blanket stitch (variation three), Elizabethan ladder with filling, chain stitch, Elizabethan double Vandyke/twisted chain, Elizabethan plaited braid stitch (standard version), Elizabethan Ceylon stitch, Elizabethan trellis stitch, corded double detached buttonhole, and Elizabethan spider’s web. Many of the motifs are padded underneath the embroidery, likely with wool.

Scholar Source Context

Document identity
localId
114589
label
Coif
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
114589
contentType
object
title
Coif
description
According to Elizabethan embroidery scholar Jacqui Carey, construction of this woman’s coif is typical of the period, as is its design. The coif is a single piece of embroidered plain weave linen, cut in the usual way. The embroidery features pomegranate, honeysuckle, rose, carnation and acorn motifs set within stylized undulating stems and foliage. Most of the embroidery is worked with two distinct types of metal thread (thin metal strips wrapped around a silk core)—gilt thread and silver thread which has tarnished to black. Black silk thread also is used for the embroidery. Nine different stitches are used on the coif, including Elizabethan blanket stitch (variation three), Elizabethan ladder with filling, chain stitch, Elizabethan double Vandyke/twisted chain, Elizabethan plaited braid stitch (standard version), Elizabethan Ceylon stitch, Elizabethan trellis stitch, corded double detached buttonhole, and Elizabethan spider’s web. Many of the motifs are padded underneath the embroidery, likely with wool.
date
late 1500s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80007372
genreSpecific
Embroidery
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 21 x 42.2 cm (8 1/4 x 16 5/8 in.)
cul
England, Elizabethan Period, late 16th century
accession
1934.206
Source extras
tec
Silk, gold and silver thread, sequins, padding, linen; embroidery
tombstone
Coif, late 1500s. England, Elizabethan Period, late 16th century. Silk, gold and silver thread, sequins, padding, linen; embroidery; overall: 21 x 42.2 cm (8 1/4 x 16 5/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dudley P. Allen Fund, 1934.206
collection
Textiles
relatedWorks
id
114624
description
Forehead Cloth, late 1500s. England, Elizabethan Period, late 16th century. Silk, gold and silver thread, sequins, padding, linen; embroidery; overall: 16.8 x 38.7 cm (6 5/8 x 15 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Dudley P. Allen Fund, 1934.231
citations
citation
Underhill, Gertrude. "Old Embroideries in the Museum: Three English Embroideries." <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 21, no. 8 (1934).
page_number
p. 123-25
url
www.jstor.org/stable/25137641
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook.</em> Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 264
citation
Nguyen, Tricia Wilson. “Scandal and Imprisonment: Gold Spinners of 17th Century England.” In <em>Hidden Stories/ Human Lives: Proceedings of the Textile Society of America 17th Biennial Symposium, October 15-17, 2020</em>. (2021).
creditline
Dudley P. Allen Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 06:00:51.946000
sourceId
114589
dept
Textiles
coll
Textiles
med
Silk, gold and silver thread, sequins, padding, linen; embroidery
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
ddd713250246830e