Embroidered in coloured silks, this coif presents an alternative format to the single colour blackwork style for this type of headwear. It is very lavishly embellished with precious metal threads, added in layers on top of the silk threads. Unlike many coifs in the V&A’s collections, it has never been displayed flat and retains the original gathers and embroidery at the crown.
Until the end of the 17th century the coif was informal headwear for women. Plain linen versions were worn by the working-class. Middle-class and aristocratic women wore elaborately decorated coifs. It would have been worn by itself indoors, or with a hat on top in public. In Western Europe it was customary for both men and women to cover their heads in public up until the 1960s. A hat was an essential part of respectable dress and, from a health perspective, head coverings were considered necessary to protect against chills and disease.A linen coif embroidered with coloured silks in shades of green, pink, blue, red and yellow in detached buttonhole stitch and satin stitch, with silver and silver-gilt threads in plaited braid stitch and chain stitch. The pattern consists of leaves, roses, pomegranates and pea pods. The front is edged with silver-gilt bobbin lace with spangles. At the crown, the circle of gathers, embroidered over, is original, although the seam at the top has been re-sewn. There is a casing at the bottom and a modern cotton lining added later.A woman's coif of linen, 1575-1624, English; embroidered coloured silks, metal thread, spangles