THE VINTAGE THIMBLE

Emperor’s Ceremonial Armour 1736-1795 (Qianlong period). Silk, bronze, gold, metal and cotton.

The Qing rulers, conquerors of all China, took pride in their military heritage. Emperor Qianlong carried out great military reviews, some in the imperial grounds south of Beijing. The emperor inspected his troops regularly. His ceremonial armour was for such events, not for battle. The jacket and apron are padded with cotton instead of protective iron strips. The sleeves are banded in closely sewn strips of gold thread to resemble shining metal. | sources: V&A and The Palace Museum, Beijing.

(top image: Painting of Emperor Qianlong wearing ceremonial armour, 1758.)

Javanese Royal Gold & Silver Embroidered Jacket Circa 1900. Java. Solo or Yogyakarta. Wool, metal threads.

This type of Jacket was worn by nobles and royals in the Islamic Courts of Solo and Yogyakarta. It is made in the European manner, either in Europe and exported to Java or possibly by a European who set up shop there. The ornate metal embroidery is highlighted by pailletes and the leaf design that edges the jacket is embroidered in alternating silver and gold thread. | M & H

Spectacle case and spectacles England, ca. 1685-1688 (case) - 1700-1725 (spectacles). Spectacle case of painted and gilded mother-of-pearl, containing a later pair of folding spectacles, of tortoise-shell and silver.

This spectacle case may have belonged to James II, although the folding spectacles most certainly were made several decades after his death in exile in 1701. The painted mother-of-pearl case is of the very highest quality—certainly fit for a king’s use—and was probably made in France. Folding spectacles are mentioned in the advertisement of a French maker in 1745. They are described as ‘in the English style’. It is likely that folding spectacles had been made for a decade or so before 1745, but there is no evidence that they were made during the lifetime of James II. A letter that accompanied the spectacles, written at the end of the 18th century, describes in detail how the case passed by gift from James’s son, the Old Pretender, through several hands, until it came into the possession of a Mr Walker in 1770. By that time it must have been revered as a Jacobite relic by those who favoured the Stuart claim to the English throne. | V&A

Uniform Dress of Catherine II to the uniform of the Preobrazhensky Life Guards Regiment St Petersburg, Russia. 1763. Silk and metal threads, copper, gold lace, gilt. Catherine the Great was a great patron of the Guards' regiments, who had done much to bring her to power. The Empress had a dress made in accordance with the uniform of each regiment, and wore this dress to appear before the regimental officers on regimental holidays. This dress combines features of a uniform and of Russian national costume, as well as elements of the French fashion then widespread in Russia. | The State Hermitage Museum

Coronation uniform coat, 1896. The Coronation of Nicholas II, 1896 ‘And what a glorious day it was – a cloudless sky with hardly breeze enough to stir a leaf, while the hot sun poured upon the many gilded cupolas of Moscow and the Kremlin till they gleamed like fire.’ Even the weather played its part perfectly for the coronation of Nicholas II, according to The Times newspaper correspondent. Given a privileged seat for a good view, he described it as ‘certainly the most gorgeous and perhaps the most impressive ceremony that I have ever witnessed’. Nicholas II was the last emperor to succeed to the throne and his coronation in 1896 was the last in Russian history. It was also exceptionally splendid, and because the regalia – the textiles, religious vestments and court livery – were preserved in the Moscow Armouries, they survived the upheaval of the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. | The Moscow Kremlin Museum's via V&A

Pair of royal finger rings Æthelwulf ring: Laverstock, Wiltshire, AD 828-58 Æthelswith ring: Aberford, West Yorkshire Each engraved with the name of an Anglo-Saxon ruler The two rings have similar inscriptions which identify them with the royal house of Wessex. As a result, they are often considered as a pair. However, they in fact come from different places, are of different date and are likely to have been made by different goldsmiths. The oldest and largest of the rings was found in 1780 in a cart-rut which probably accounts for its squashed appearance. It has an almost triangular bezel, which depicts a stylized plant motif between two birds. Below this main decoration is a rectangular panel carrying an inscription which can be read as 'Æthelwulf Rex' (King Æthelwulf). The hoop of the ring is wide and flat and is decorated with a quatrefoil and interlaced knot design. The second ring, ploughed up in 1870, has a circular bezel with a beaded frame and contains a cruciform (cross-shaped) design filled with leaf motifs. Within a central circle is a charming four-legged animal with a halo and the letters A and D which stand for 'Agnus Dei' (Lamb of God). This ring has the name of King Æthelwulf's daughter, 'Æthelswith Regina' (Queen Æthelswith), scratched into the back of the bezel. The hoop is plain and terminates in flattened shoulders decorated with further animals. The ornament on both rings is inlaid with niello to make it stand out. Although both show signs of wear, it is unlikely that they were worn by the King and Queen, but were probably royal gifts or symbols of office. | THE BRITISH MUSEUM