Originally Russian word “Pjerchatki” comes from the old Russian “pjerstatitsi” or “rukavki perschatjie”, that means in accordance with thedefining dictionary by V. Dal’ “cloth for the hands with the case for every finger (“perst”)”.
In Rus’ the first gloves appeared in the end of the 15th century and belonged to the wardrobe only of the Czar’s persons and noblemen.
The most ancient gloves in the world are considered gloves found during archeological excavations of the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamon, it is more than 3 thousand years old. Assyrians and Egiptians considered gloves as a symbol of luxury and authority.
The cult of the gloves came in the 19th century. They became the obligatory part of the high society outfit: The gloves informed the public that the owner of the gloves is a man of worth, treats himself respectfully and corresponds to the high standard of moral and hygienic norms of his time.
The ethiquet ruled defined who, where and how should have gloves on or off, so the one had to have many gloves is his or her wardrobe: it was a must to change the gloves several times per day, their model and color depended on the occasion – for the city and for the country side trip, for golf and for riding, for the theater, for the day and evening receptions, for any time of the year and particular occupation. The gloved were made of leather, chamois, expensive fabrics, silk, lace and linen, often they had been decorated with precious stones, embroidery, special ornaments. To lose the glove was considered a bad-news, and to throw the glove in the opponent’s face was the height of offence.
The devotion of the public to the gloves do not come away with time, though now the gloves are not used everywhere, they are still an essential part of a particular costume and connected to this etiquette norms
In the visual art, in the composition very often comes the image of hands in gloves. The gloves capture the attention and give to any even a slight gesture such a special impression that help the viewer to feel the spirit of the epoch, and to the artist to reveal the creative concept more complete.
Elena Dann