Coif (England)

Imagination and creativity show in the embroidery of the 17th century, as shown on this beautiful coif. An everyday head covering worn by women, coifs were the canvas for unique embellishment. On this piece, each each compartment of the intertwined lattice is filled with a different flower, fruit or vegetable worked in silk and gold or silver metallic threads. There are many imaginative uses of threads and stitches to be seen. For example, the pears were first worked with metal thread in a needle lace stitch that filled in the entire shape, but to provide shading and dimension, multiple colors of silk threads were interwoven into the metal thread work. The creativity continues with the raised peas and grapes, worked using a stitch called a spider’s web. The forms actually stand off the surface by over a quarter inch, defying the known instructions for the stitch. When originally made, the bright sparkle of the gold and silver combined with the colored silks would have made this piece quite a statement.

Coif (England); silk and metal-wrapped silk thread embroidery, linen foundation; H x W: 23 x 22cm (9 1/16 x 8 11/16in.); Bequest of Richard Cranch Greenleaf in memory of his mother, Adeline Emma Greenleaf; 1962-53-2