Garter

Date1649

OriginAsia, Israel, Jerusalem or Europe, Mediterranean (export)

MediumSilk

Dimensions1, OL (with fringe) 42 1/2 in.; OW 5/8 in.

2, OL (with fringe) 42 3/4 in.; OW 5/8 in.

Credit LineGift of Mrs. Cora Ginsburg

Object number1991-491,1-2

Description1 & 2. A pair of garters woven of red and ivory silk. Woven inscription reads "Iervsalem 1649". One end of each garter is a loop and the other end is braided. Stripes, checks, and other geometric patterns fill the length.Label TextGarters consisted of long narrow ribbons or tapes tied tightly over the stocking tops. This is one of several surviving pairs of seventeenth-century garters with the word "Jerusalem" woven in as part of the design. Garters such as these reached England and America. Judge Samuel Sewall of Boston received a pair as a gift in 1688. He was told the garters had been purchased in Algier and were made by a Jewish person.ProvenanceFrom the collection of Cora Ginsburg.