Leather Embroidery to A.D. 1600

Last updated: Aug. 17, 2024

This site presents an ongoing effort to catalog every known embroidered leather item up to about A.D. 1600. Pending publication, it is not yet open to the public, but will be after that point. Check back or contact the author to be informed when it opens.

To-date, over 130 primary archaeological sources and summaries have provided information about various kinds of embroidered leather items, mostly shoes. Over 275 articles and books have been consulted while tracking down details of these artifacts and looking for potential additions to the knowledge base. About a dozen digital collections have been located and accessed to view and learn about their holdings via high-resolution photographs and item dimensions. Further, some museums have helpfully provided modern high-resolution, colored photos of various items, greatly clarifying details not apparent in old publications.

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, articles in the following non-English languages are included.

Language	Embroidery	Leather	Decorative thread / seam
Czech (cs)	výšivka / vyšívané	kůže	ozdobná nit
Dutch (nl)	borduurwerk / borduursel / geborduurde	leer
French (fr)	broderie	cuir
German (de)	stickerei / bestickung / bestickt	leder	Ziersteppereien / Ziernaht
Italian (it)	ricamo	pelle
Lithuanian (lt)	siuvinėjimas	odą
Norwegian (no)	broderi / broderte	lær	pyntesøm
Polish (pl)	haft / haftem	skóra
Russian (ru)	вышивка	кожа	декоративный шов
Spanish (es)	bordado	cuero
Swedish (sv)	broderi	läder	dekorsöm
Turkish (th)	nakış	deri