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This article starts from the so-called sieve portraits of Queen Elizabeth I. What is the meaning of this fascinating attribute she is holding in her hand? How does this sieve relate both to her political and female identity? This brings me to a wider scope on sieves and sieving in art history and anthropology. Indeed, the sieve exhibits a wide range of symbolism that extends across art history, philosophy, psychoanalysis, and gender studies. The article provides an interdisciplinary perspective on the sieve from three angles of approach: as motif (the sieve is an attribute), as symbol (the sieve is an image), and as hermeneutic (the sieve is a paradigm). Doing so, it will become clear that underneath the sieve the idea of textile, “textility” and texture is constantly resonating.