A gauntlets are a type of cuffed glove. Over the years there have been many types of qauntlets made by different cultures. They have been made from chain mail, leather and fabric. They have been used in battle, work and fashion.
Native Americans have a long history of decorating their clothing and work items with quills, shells and other indeginous items. When the Europeans came along they brought with them beads and the american natives quickly incorporated beading into their artwork.
When the livelyhood of being a cowboy/cowgirl began to lean toward rodeos and western shows, many riders/performers chose Native American beaded gauntlets to accent their attire.
I love Native American beadwork and I often use it as reference for my quilts. For some reason beaded gauntlets really catch my fancy. There is a new book (which I do not have yet,but hope to get for Christmas) called Real Western Wear: Beaded Gauntlets from the William P. Healey Collection.
The work on these is just beautiful! Thanks for showing them.