Designs for Metalwork

These designs for book-jewels were intended to be fashioned in gold and black enamel. The two on the top row feature rings that could be attached to a girdle, chain, or necklace. These metalwork covers also bear the initials of Thomas Wyatt the Younger (TW) and his wife, Joan (IW), which have been incorporated into fluid arabesques, a style fashionable in the English court in the period. The decorative patterns on these and other book-jewels were derived from ornamental motifs found on bookbindings.