
- Headdress
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Headdress
- Place of origin:
Egypt (made)
- Date:
300-600 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown
- Materials and Techniques:
Plain woven linen, with wool cord
- Credit Line:
Given by H M Kennard through Flinders Petrie
- Museum number:
420-1889
- Gallery location:
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 8, The William and Eileen Ruddock Gallery, case 14
Although this headdress is exceptionally well preserved, it cannot be precisely dated. A married woman in Egypt in the first millennium AD was expected to cover her head when out of doors, and finds from many burial sites show that fine hairnets and elaborately patterned caps were common protection.
The headdress with its long scarf-like ends is so loosely woven that it creates the impression of stripes. The original rectangular piece of textile has been seamed together and gathered at one short end to fit on top of the head. The other short end has been split up to the neck to form two flaps, possibly serving as a scarf around the neck or it could have been wrapped around the head like a turban. The flaps end in a fringe made out of the warp threads. There are remains of purple wool ties at chin level for fastening it.