Leather Embroidery to A.D. 1600

Last updated: March 25, 2024

This site presents an ongoing effort to catalog every known embroidered leather item up to about A.D. 1600.

To-date, some 125 archaeological sources have provided information about various kinds of embroidered leather items, mostly shoes. Over 260 articles and books have been consulted while tracking down details on these artifacts and looking for potential additions to the knowledge base. About a dozen web sites have been located and accessed to view and learn about some of them via high-resolution photographs. Further, some museums have been contacted about obtaining modern photos of various items, and provided images for clearer understanding of artifacts.

More details about the results will be made public in the near future, pending outcomes of discussions with a publisher. If you would like to be notified when that happens, contact the author at the email address above.

Criteria for inclusion / exclusion

+ Europe, Scandinavia, Britain & Ireland, the Middle East, Northern Africa, Western Asia.
+ Any leather artifact that has direct embroidery or decorative stitching in silk, linen, wool, or metal (gold, silver, tin).
+ Evidenced by surviving threads and/or holes that once held thread.
+ If in doubt, it is included... some publications' definitions and use of the word embroidery are more inclusive than others.
- Appliqué, inlaid leather, other embroidered material such as silk or velvet that is itself attached to the leather.
- Repairs made to parchment or vellum manuscript pages.
- Later related items: many pieces of embroidery on velvet or silk over leather are known; these include Ottoman quivers and bow cases, English gloves, various kinds of footwear, book coverings, etc., from 1600 on.

Table of helpful terms

When researching scholarly articles, it can be helpful to have a table of words and phrases that might be useful in searching them for relevant discussion. So far, I have found related articles in the following non-English languages.

Language	Embroidery	Leather	Decorative thread / seam
Czech	výšivka / vyšívané	kůže	ozdobná nit
Dutch	borduurwerk / borduursel / geborduurde	leer
French	broderie	cuir
German	stickerei / bestickung / bestickt	leder	Ziersteppereien / Ziernaht
Italian	ricamo	pelle
Lithuanian	siuvinėjimas	odą
Norwegian	broderi / broderte	lær	pyntesøm
Polish	haft / haftem	skóra
Russian	вышивка	кожа	декоративный шов
Spanish	bordado	cuero
Swedish	broderi	läder	dekorsöm
Turkish	nakış	deri