Introduction
Wenceslaus Hollar (1607-77) produced a range of engravings of women in the 1640s. There are 26 plates in his “Ornatus Muliebris Anglicanus, or The Severall Habits of English Women, from the Nobllitie to the contry Woman, as they are in these times,” published in 1640. His works, the Theatrum Mulierum and the Aula Veneris, contain prints of women from across Europe, North Africa, Persia and America; of these at least sixteen are of English women. He also published a series of women dressed for the four seasons, four full length and four three quarter length. These fifty plates have been examined for the accessories being worn with some of the women obviously in indoor dress, and others in outdoor wear.
 | |
| Figure 1 |
The majority of the women depicted come from the nobility and gentry and the wealthier elements of the middling sort. The women in the sixteen Theatrum plates are labelled. Five are described as noblewomen, including one who is “Nobilis Mulier Anglica in Vestitu Hiemali,” that is in winter clothing. Four are described as gentlewomen; six are the wives or daughters of citizens, artisans, or merchants of London, and one is the wife of the mayor. The final Theatrum woman is “Mulier Anglica habitans in Pago,” that is a woman who lives in the countryside.
 |
| Figure 2 |
Headwear – Hats, hoods, coifs, veils, hair decorations, masks
Nine of the women wear hats, in all cases with an obvious hatband. Some of these hatbands are longer than the circumference of the crown of the hat, and the ends hang down as in Figure 1, a Citizen’s wife from Theatrum. A further nine of the women wear hoods, all of which are of a dark colour, as in Figure 5 an English Gentlewoman from Theatrum; this would appear to indicate they are for outdoor wear, as white hoods usually indicate indoor wear. Nine of the women wear coifs, at least three of these are visible under a hat [Figure 7 and 8]. Three of the coifs have a turn back to the front, as in Figure 2 from Theatrum. Six of the coifs have lace edging, one is plain, and another has a scallop edging that matches her kerchief. Three, including the two summer season women, have thin transparent veils over their heads and faces. Twenty three of the women, just under half, have no head covering. The hairstyles sometimes include hair decorations, most commonly bows [Figure 3] or feathers. Three of the women wear half masks covering the top half of their faces [Figure 3].
 | |
| Figure 3 |
Neckwear – Kerchiefs, bands, furs and scarves
Thirty five of the women have a
kerchief, either a folded square, which can be seen by the way it sits around
the neck, as in Figures 1, 3 and 7, or shaped to the neck and fastened there
probably with a button and loop. Five of these kerchiefs have the addition of a
bow at the centre front [Figures 3 and 7]. Twenty seven of the women have bands
that follow the edge of the neckline, and are probably tucked into or pinned to
the neckline. In seventeen cases these are worn with a kerchief over them, as
can be seen in Figure 3, from Ornatus, where there is a plain band under a
kerchief which has a wide lace edging, and in Figure 7. Where there is no
kerchief, a band following the neckline is still worn, as in Figure 4, and in
four cases there is a bow, rather
than a brooch at the centre front of the neckline. This bow addition can also
be seen under the kerchief at the centre front of the neckline in Figure 2.
Three of the women wear a ruff, one of them being the Mayor of London’s wife
[Figure 6]. The two winter women from the Seasons engravings have a fur around
their necks, two further women in Ornatus have neck furs. For colder weather a
wide scarf is worn in four images, as in Figure 5. The scarf appears to be a
rectangle of fabric, worn round the shoulders and pinned or fastened at waist
level.
 | |
| Figure 4 |
Hand and Arm Wear – Gloves, muffs, cuffs
Fifteen of the women wear or carry long gloves, as can be seen in Figures 4 and 5. Hollar has indicated the gloves by showing the wrinkles going up the arm, and by the seaming of the finger gussets. For more autumnal or winter wear twelve of the women carry muffs, most of which are obviously of fur [Figure 3], although one might be of a plush fabric such as velvet [Figure 7].
 | |
| Figure 5 |
Except where they cannot be seen, because it is a rear view or the sleeve ends are hidden by muffs, all the women have some type of cuff to their sleeves. Cuffs seem to come in two types. If the sleeve is tight, or fairly tight, then the cuff will be a turn back, either plain [Figures 2, 5 and 7], or with a scalloped or lace trim [Figure 3]. If the sleeve is full, as in Figure 4, then the cuff will be larger and the lace will hang down. Sometimes the cuff will be a frill, echoing in cuff form a falling ruff, as in the Mayor’s wife in Figure 6.
Figure 6
Aprons
Twelve of the women wear aprons, mostly plain as in Figures 5 and 8, though three have some edging, either lace or a scallop shape as in Figure 2.
 | |
| Figure 7 |
Other items carried or suspended from the waist - Baskets, fans, etc.
Two women carry baskets, the countrywoman in Theatrum has a wicker basket [Figure 8], and the countrywoman in Ornatus has a rush basket. Seventeen of the women carry fans, or have them suspended from their waist. Seven of these fans are folding, while others are fixed fans, often of feathers set into a fan handle, as in Figure 5. One lady has a folding fan in her hand and what maybe a small mirror suspended from her waist, a further woman has a small pair of scissors hanging from her waist, and another has a pomander. One lady holds a handkerchief.
 |
| Figure 8 |
Footwear – Shoes, shoe roses and ties
Footwear is rarely seen as the skirts reach to the ground, although sometimes just the edge of a toe is visible. In the six plates where the whole shoe is seen, all appear to have heels. Four pair have shoes roses, one pair has ties [Figure 8], and the Ornatus Countrywoman is wearing pattens over her shoes to keep them from the mud. [Figure 9].
 |
| Figure 9 |
Jewellery
Nineteen of the women are wearing obvious jewellery, although many of the others may be wearing jewellery which is obscured by headwear, neckwear, etc. Earrings are worn by at least six of the women [Figures 3, 4 and 6], and the three-quarter length Spring may also have an earring just peeking through her hair. Thirteen of the women wear necklaces, and four of these have a pendant hanging from the necklace. In the case of Figure 4 this is a large pearl. Thirteen of the women have brooches, usually seen at the centre front of the decolletage, as in Figure 4 where it is matched with a rope of pearls or beads which encircle the neckline. A further six women have similar ropes of pearls or beads, some encircle the neckline whilst others are worn sash-wise across the body or encircle the waist. A ring is only visible on the three-quarter length Autumn, this is unsurprising as many women wear gloves or muffs or their hands are hidden.
Sources
Most, but not all, of the Hollar prints are available from the University of Toronto’s Hollar Collection. https://collections.library.utoronto.ca/repository/hollar
Others have been sourced from the Royal Collection and the British Museum.
