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Cap

Cap

  • Place of origin:

    England, Great Britain (made)

  • Date:

    16th century (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Knitted and felted wool

  • Museum number:

    1562&A-1901

  • Gallery location:

    In store

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This cap was discovered in an old house in Worship Street, East London. It is knitted with thick, reddish brown wool in stocking stitch. It has been felted, cut and re-sewn to make two overlapping brims, and blocked into its finished form.

Excavations of late medieval and Renaissance artefacts have revealed a large number of similar caps. They were an important item of everyday clothing and are mentioned in a law called the Cappers Act of 1571. This decreed the type of headgear that every English resident over the age of six and below the rank of 'gentleman' should wear on Sundays and holidays. It specified ‘a cap of wool, thickened and dressed in England, made within this realm and only dressed and finished by some of the trade of cappers, upon pain to forfeit for every day of not wearing 3s. 4d’. The aim of this Act of Parliament was to protect the trade of cap-making.

Physical description

Felted cap knitted in thick reddish brown wool with two overlapping brims.

Place of Origin

England, Great Britain (made)

Date

16th century (made)

Artist/maker

unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Knitted and felted wool

Dimensions

Diameter: 10.75 in

Descriptive line

Felted cap, English, 16th century.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

Levey, Santina M. Illustrations of the History of Knitting Selected from the Collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Textile History Volume 1, Number 2, December 1969. Plate IV.

Exhibition History

Knit One, Purl One (Victoria and Albert Museum 01/01/1985-31/12/1985)

Labels and date

9. CAP
Hand-knitted wool
English, 16th century

This cap was partly knitted to shape, then heavily felted, cut, sewn and blocked. One of the earliest mentions of such a cap is in an Act of 1488 which fixed the price of felted wool hats at 1s.8d and of knitted wool caps at 2s.8d. By the Capper's Act of 1571 it was laid down that everyone over the age of six (excepting 'maids, ladies, gentlewomen, noble personages, and every Lord, Knight, and gentleman of twenty marks land') should wear on Sundays and holidays 'a cap of wool, thicked and dressed in England, made within this realm, and only dressed and finished by some of the trade of cappers, upon pain to forfeit for every day of not wearing 3s 4d.'

1562-1901

Materials

Wool

Techniques

Knitted; Felting

Categories

Hats & headwear

Collection code

T&D

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Qr_O107794
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