Three Tudor Silver Dress-Hooks

Abstract

Since the Treasure Act (1996) came into force in England and Wales, museums have been able to acquire whole new categories of artefacts. One such category consists of sixteenth-century silver and silver-gilt dress-hooks, which have until now been poorly represented in public collections. In volume 82 of the Antiquaries Journal, Gaimster, Hayward, Mitchell and Parker presented a classification of these ornamental hooks and, through analysis of contemporary inventories and documents, suggested how they were used. In this note, the authors publish three further finds, two recently acquired by the British Museum for its type series, and a further hook, one of only two so far recorded to feature a maker's mark.