ABSTRACT
Veils were indispensable garments in the wardrobes of women throughout sixteenth-century Europe. Costume imagery provides a springboard for analysing the sensorial typologies that manifested around lightweight, transparent, and translucent veils and those that were heavy and densely woven. Contextualizing the extraordinary variety of veil textiles produced and consumed at this time, the chapter investigates the enterprise of dedicated veil-makers in the manufacturing and commercial hubs of Florence and Seville. The material qualities of different veiling textiles gave rise to popular sensibilities and localized communities of taste. A case study on women’s headdresses in the northern regions of Spain and the Basque country concludes the chapter, demonstrating an enthusiastic veiling culture based upon industry, creativity, and kinship.
