p-Thimbles-art - 9/8/19

"Some Period Thimbles" by Lady Aveline de Ceresbroch.

NOTE: See also the files: sewing-msg, mdvl-needles-art, Hand-Sew-101-art, embroidery-msg, 8-P-Stitches-art, Fnd-Tme-2-Sew-art, sewing-tools-msg.

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NOTICE -

This article was added to this set of files, called Stefan's Florilegium, with the permission of the author. 

These files are available on the Internet at: http://www.florilegium.org

Copyright to the contents of this file remains with the author or translator.

While the author will likely give permission for this work to be reprinted in SCA type publications, please check with the author first or check for any permissions granted at the end of this file.

Thank you,
Mark S. Harris...AKA:..Stefan li Rous
stefan at florilegium.org
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Some Period Thimbles
by Lady Aveline de Ceresbroch

At a site near Moscow, Russia a "thimble" made of bone dated to 30,000 years ago has been identified by archaeologists as being used by mammoth hunters to stitch pearl embroideries onto pieces of leather. "Press stones" have also been found and dated to 10,000 years ago, essential for sewing.

It is believed that early finger covers or thimbles were made from bone, horn, or ivory, stone, wood and bark, leather, tortoiseshell, and even glass.  Later, thimbles were made of metals, including bronze, iron, copper, and metal alloys including brass.  These thimbles began to appear roughly 2,000 to 2,500 years ago – across Asia and the Middle East.

The first metal thimbles were open thimble rings (also called sewing rings or ring thimbles) - made of a flat band that would wrap around the finger, like a ring, but whose purpose was to help push the needle through.  While most people used finger caps or thymels/thumbles/thimbles for sewing in the earliest days, the ancient Egyptians were known to use finger guards made out of stone, which were held in place by other fingers by clenching the hand in a certain position.

The earliest identified thimble is accepted by most scholars to have been a thimble made of iron found with a steel needle in a tomb of a minor diplomat of a Han Dynasty Princess, in Mawangdui, Jiangling in the Hunan Province, dated sometime between 202 BCE and 220 CE.  Some scholars argue that prior to the use of steel to make needles by the Chinese and Arab world that thimbles were not really necessary or used.  Once steel needles were developed, thimbles were employed to help push the needle through the materials being sewn together.  Fine metal needles made of iron or copper were actually very soft and could not withstand repeated pressure against thimbles and would simply bend. 


An iron ring thimble very similar to the oldest dated metal thimble.

In addition to the Han Dynasty thimble, a similar thimble ring was also found in an archaeological excavation of a Scythian settlement alongside of silver coins minted in the second century BCE.  However, recent scientific evidence indicates that the so-called "Scythian Thimble" might actually date as late as 600 to 800 CE.



 The "Scythian Thimble" – some scholars debate whether this is the second oldest extant thimble.
The "Chersonesus Thimble," verifiably dated the second oldest extant find.


A Byzantine thimble made of a copper alloy sheet; dated to late 5th or early 6th Century.
Another early cylinder ring thimble.


Middle East and Caucus Region Thimbles through the Middle Ages


Afghanistan – 10th Century (front view) 
Afghanistan – 10th Century (side view)


Abasid Levantine Caliphate Period (750-1258) – probably 10th Century or more recent.
Abasid Levantine Caliphate Period (750-1258) – probably 10th Century or more recent.


Abasid Levantine Caliphate Period (750-1258) – probably 10th Century or more recent.
Abasid Levantine Caliphate Period (750-1258) – probably 10th Century or more recent.


Abasid Levantine Caliphate Period (750-1258) – probably 10th Century or more recent.
Abasid Levantine Caliphate Period (750-1258) – probably 10th Century or more recent.


Afghanistan – 11th or 12th Century
Afghanistan – 11th or 12th Century


Afghanistan – 12th to 15th Century
Afghanistan – 12th to 15th Century



Turko-Slavic Thimbles through the Middle Ages


Turkey – 9th to 12th Century; bronze.
Turkey – 9th to 12th Century; bronze.


Turkey – 9th to 12th Century; bronze.
Turko-Slavic – 12th or 13th Century.


Turko-Slavic – 12th or 13th Century.
Turko-Slavic – 12th or 13th Century.


Turko-Slavic – 12th or 13th Century.
Turko-Slavic – 12th or 13th Century.


Bulgaria – 12th or 13th Century; cast iron and made for heavy work such as leather or sails.
Perm, Russia – 14th or 15th Century; 
copper alloy sheet with the seam soldered in lead.


Astrakhan, Russia – 13th to 16th Century.
Astrakhan, Russia – 13th to 16th Century.


Found near Moscow, Russia – dated to 14th or 15th Century; some scholars believe this was made in Nürnberg, Germany.



Hispano-Moresque Thimbles throughout the Middle Ages


Hispano-Moresque – 10th to 13th Century; classified by some scholars as a Pelham Burn Type II.
Hispano-Moresque – 10th to 13th Century; classified by some scholars as a Pelham Burn Type III.


Hispano-Moresque – 10th to 13th Century; classified by some scholars as a Pelham Burn Type I.
Hispano-Moresque – 10th to 15th Century


Hispano-Moresque – 10th to 15th Century



French Thimbles throughout the Middle Ages

 
France – 13th to 16th Century
France – 13th to 16th Century


France – 13th to 16th Century
France – 13th to 16th Century


France – 13th to 16th Century
France – 13th to 16th Century


France – 13th to 16th Century
Southern France or Northern Spain – 16th Century


Southern France or Northern Spain – 16th Century
Southern France or Northern Spain – 16th Century


Southern France or Northern Spain – 16th Century
Southern France or Northern Spain – 16th Century




Germanic Thimbles throughout the Middle Ages


Nürnberg, Germany – Thimble Ring; undated.
Nürnberg, Germany – Thimble Ring; undated.


Nürnberg, Germany – Thimble Ring; undated.
Nürnberg, Germany – Thimble Ring; undated.


Nürnberg, Germany – Skep (or "Beehive") Thimble; undated.
Nürnberg, Germany – Skep (or "Beehive") Thimble; undated.


Nürnberg, Germany – Skep (or "Beehive") Thimble; undated.
Nürnberg, Germany – Skep (or "Beehive") Thimble; undated.


Nürnberg, Germany – Skep (or "Beehive") Thimble; undated.
Nürnberg, Germany – Skep (or "Beehive") Thimble; undated.


Nürnberg, Germany – Decorated Skep (or "Beehive") Thimble; undated.
Nürnberg, Germany – Decorated Skep (or "Beehive") Thimble; undated.


Nürnberg, Germany – Skep (or "Beehive") Thimble; octagonal in shape; undated.
Nürnberg, Germany – Mid-16th Century; two-part thimble in silver.


Nürnberg, Germany – Mid to Late-16th Century, with the year 1579 etched to commemorate something or demarcate when it was created; silver (side view).
Nürnberg, Germany – Mid to Late-16th Century, with the year 1579 etched to commemorate something or demarcate when it was created; silver (top view).


Nürnberg, Germany – 16th Century
Nürnberg, Germany – 16th Century; note the squared dimples


Nürnberg, Germany – 16th Century; note rotation from left to right or counter-clockwise
Nürnberg, Germany – 16th Century


Nürnberg, Germany – 16th Century
Nürnberg, Germany – Early 16th Century; some scholars classify this as a Pelham-Burn Type I.


Nürnberg, Germany – Mid 16th Century; some scholars classify this as a Pelham-Burn Type II.
Nürnberg, Germany – Mid 16th Century; some scholars classify this as a Pelham-Burn Type II.


Nürnberg, Germany – Mid 16th Century; silver; some scholars classify this as a Pelham-Burn Type II.
Nürnberg, Germany – Mid 16th Century; some scholars classify this as a Pelham-Burn Type II.


Nürnberg, Germany – Mid 16th Century; some scholars classify this as a Pelham-Burn Type II.
Nürnberg, Germany – Mid 16th Century; some scholars classify this as a Pelham-Burn Type II.


Nürnberg, Germany – Late 16th Century; brass; some scholars classify this as a Pelham-Burn Type III.
Bone thimble with dimples etched in, as well as other thimble predecessors at The Thimble Museum in Creglingen, Germany.

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Copyright 2017 by Tonia Brown. <harpyandhag at gmail.com>. Permission is granted for republication in SCA-related publications, provided the author is credited.  Addresses change, but a reasonable attempt should be made to ensure that the author is notified of the publication and if possible receives a copy.

If this article is reprinted in a publication, please place a notice in the publication that you found this article in the Florilegium. I would also appreciate an email to myself, so that I can track which articles are being reprinted. Thanks. -Stefan.

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