In the 19th century gloves were an indispensable accessory for women. They were worn for day and evening wear. Wealthy women owned many pairs suited to different occasions and carefully chosen to match particular outfits. Strict rules applied to the wearing of gloves. A woman would be considered undressed if she left the house ungloved and it was customary, for instance, to keep gloves on in church, at the theatre and at balls but to remove them before dining.
These embroidered white kid gloves are typical of day gloves worn by women in the 1830s and 40s. The fashion for pale coloured soft kid leather was the subject of much discussion in etiquette manuals. It was considered extremely bad form to wear discoloured or worn gloves, leading some to claim they 'can only be worn once'. This particular pair appear to be unworn as there is no sign of the stretching required to wear such close fitting items. The glove pattern is cut with 'quirks' (a piece which fitted at the base of the thumb) and 'fourchettes' (the side panels for the fingers), and they would have been fastened by a single button at the wrist, which is missing on the right hand. There is no pointing on the backs of the hands as these were left plain in order to accommodate the floral design. This extremely fine hand embroidery is near identical on both left and right and forms a concentrated design over the back of the hand, typical of the period. The design is stitched in coloured silk with silver thread used for the foliage.