It seems worth mentioning that there have been archaeological finds
from this general time period of actual grommets/metal eyelets.
Granted, the ones I know of were found in London, but since London (no
offense intended!) was a bit of a fashion backwater at the time, it
seems at least reasonable to me theorize, on seeing something that
looks like a metal grommet on a fashionable portait, that you actually
are seeing a metal grommet!
Geoff Egan's "Material Culture in London in an Age of Transition"
(c1450-c1700) describes the following on page 53:
Copper alloy
229: ...late 15th/early 16th century... Diam 13mm; consists of two
opposed convex sheet rings, a smaller one (Diam 11mm) with a tubular
extension on the back which has been inserted through the center of
the other and the end bent over to fix it in place (rather in the
manner of a rivet); now-black coating on both sides; traces of leather
survive.
230: ...c1550-c1650 As 229
Lead/tin
231: ...c1500-c1550 Worn; D-shaped, overall approximate Diam 13 x
12mm; pair of opposed, tear-like forms flank the central hole, beading
along sides; stylized floral motif on the flat side; two rivets.
Egan also points back to "Dress Accessories c1150-c1450" pp 227-8, fig
142, for a similar but simpler version of 231, dated to the late 14th
century.
Here's a rather crappy scan of the illustration:
http://www.formfunction.org/temp/img045.jpg
Though it seems to me that the cross-section illustrations don't
really match the text description, so I'm not sure which is more
accurate.
Granted, these probably aren't (as far as we know) from women's
clothing, especially 229, but still.
-E House
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