Cap (Headgear)
ca. AD1250-1500 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A head cap of woven silk and linen. Egyptian, Possibly Mamluk, ca. AD1250-1500. From a tomb. The cap is comprised of a skull cap and a head band. The skull cap is made of six triangles of fabric sewn together. The fabric is blue silk and is quilted in geometric patterns with a blue silk thread. Decoration is achieved by design on the tips of the triangles. Five tips have six small holes forming a triangle, that are stitched with button hole stitch using blue silk. The sixth triangle has thin strips of gilded leather sewn across to form a triangle. Two strips of gilded leather runs across two of the triangles. The head band (750mm in width) has one band (30mm across) of gilded leather strips, overing the quilting. The rest of the band is decorated with quilted rows of zig-zagged diamonds that run around the cap. The lining is undyed, plain weave linen. Between the lining and the silk is a layer of paper/fibre which helps shape the quilted design. Only half the head band remains and some patches of linen have been applied in modern times to hold some of the torn edges together. Similar to 1097-1900.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Woven silk and linen, paper, fibre, gilded leather |
| Brief description | A head cap of woven silk and linen. Egyptian, Possibly Mamluk, ca. AD1250-1500. Quilted with gilded leather strips. |
| Physical description | A head cap of woven silk and linen. The cap is comprised of a skull cap and a head band. The skull cap is made of six triangles of fabric sewn together. The fabric is blue silk and is quilted in geometric patterns with a blue silk thread. Decoration is achieved by design on the tips of the triangles. Five tips have six small holes forming a triangle, that are stitched with button hole stitch using blue silk. The sixth triangle has thin strips of gilded leather sewn across to form a triangle. Two strips of gilded leather runs across two of the triangles. The head band (750mm in width) has one band (30mm across) of gilded leather strips, overing the quilting. The rest of the band is decorated with quilted rows of zig-zagged diamonds that run around the cap. The lining is undyed, plain weave linen. Between the lining and the silk is a layer of paper/fibre which helps shape the quilted design. Only half the head band remains and some patches of linen have been applied in modern times to hold some of the torn edges together. Similar to 1097-1900. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Items 45-1899 and 46-1899 purchased together for £7 from F.G. Hilton Price esq., F.S.A. |
| Summary | A head cap of woven silk and linen. Egyptian, Possibly Mamluk, ca. AD1250-1500. From a tomb. The cap is comprised of a skull cap and a head band. The skull cap is made of six triangles of fabric sewn together. The fabric is blue silk and is quilted in geometric patterns with a blue silk thread. Decoration is achieved by design on the tips of the triangles. Five tips have six small holes forming a triangle, that are stitched with button hole stitch using blue silk. The sixth triangle has thin strips of gilded leather sewn across to form a triangle. Two strips of gilded leather runs across two of the triangles. The head band (750mm in width) has one band (30mm across) of gilded leather strips, overing the quilting. The rest of the band is decorated with quilted rows of zig-zagged diamonds that run around the cap. The lining is undyed, plain weave linen. Between the lining and the silk is a layer of paper/fibre which helps shape the quilted design. Only half the head band remains and some patches of linen have been applied in modern times to hold some of the torn edges together. Similar to 1097-1900. |
| Bibliographic reference | R. Smalley, "Late Antique and Medieval Headwear from Egypt in the Victoria and Albert Museum", British Museum Studies in ANcient Egypt and Sudan 21 (2014): 81-101 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 46-1899 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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