Tokens to Treasure

Love tokens were small, personal gifts given to a loved one: be it from a man to his betrothed, a husband to his wife or a wife to her husband, or a friend to a friend. The gifts were usually highly decorated, meaningful, and useful. Here are five examples of love tokens found in Agecroft Hall’s collection.

Gloves

Designed for every occasion, gloves were far more important to the ladies and gentlemen of 16th and 17th century England than just for keeping hands warm. Gloves played important ceremonial and social roles, symbolizing trust and honor, a betrothal, or functioning as a challenge to duel, or even as a memorial. Gloves were favored wedding gifts, and Queen Elizabeth I often gave gloves to her favorite court members, making the accessories an important status symbol.

Given on special occasions, purses could symbolize love, loyalty, or remembrance. Small, drawstring purses, also called ‘sweet bags,’ were made of silks, satins, velvets, and other luxurious fabrics and then richly embroidered with silk and metallic threads, and embellished with jewels and pearls. Purses hung from the girdle by a ribbon or chain and could carry money, wrap gifts, and store wax seals.

Purse

With a top made of leather and embroidered with glass beads, this small drawstring purse was probably made at home and assembled from purchased items. The alternating diamond and cross patterns were embroidered with red, green, blue, and white beads imported from Venice, Paris or Antwerp—cities that were producing superb polychrome glass beads by the 16th century. The beads were sewn onto a silk knit and then attached to the buckskin leather pouch. This bag, which would have made an attractive gift for a friend, was personalized with the inscription Spend not too fast and embroidered with the date 1629 and the initials E.B.

Shoehorn

This shoe horn, about nine inches long, was engraved by Robert Mindum in 1613. Inscribed along the outer edge ‘ROBART MINDVM [sic] MADE THIS SHOOING HORNE FOR…IANE [sic] HIS WIFE ANNODOMINI 1613,’ the piece is also etched with a variety of stylized floral and geometric designs: a Tudor rose topped with a crown, a small, round flower encased in a circular band containing diamond shapes, and a stylized tree with large, symmetrical leaves. The narrow end of the horn contains swirling geometric patterns and scales. Shoe horns were often times given as a gift and became necessities during the Renaissance due to the rise in popularity of soft backed, flexible shoes. There are twenty-one known Mindum shoe horns and each is dedicated to a single person and inscribed with a year; obviously, these were intended as gifts.  

Comb

The “H” shape of this comb dates back to the 9th century BCE. Commonly made of boxwood, bone, or ivory, the comb could be any length, but the width was limited to keep the teeth strong. The combs range from simple wooden objects to ornately carved ceremonial combs.

During the medieval period, ornamental “H” shaped combs were highly valued in Europe as love gifts from a gallant to his lady. The combs were often carved as a set with mirrored cases and ‘gravoirs’ and formed part of the fittings of the dressing cases used by nobility. Hair was worn in a variety of styles and a lady or her maid would comb out tangles nightly. The side of the comb with the tight teeth was very helpful in combatting head lice, a common problem for many people of the time.

Scent Flask

This small vial, also called a perfume flask or a smelling vial, held perfume and could be worn as a pendant on a necklace, stuck in a purse, held in a muff, or tied to a girdle. Perfume was important in everyday seventeenth century life as a way to ward of the daily stench of life and was applied to anything and everything—skin, clothing, gloves, hair, etc. Men and women often wore the same scents.

While none of these objects are currently on display at Agecroft Hall & Gardens, come take a tour to see which of our current treasures spark a love of history.