- Image reference 2006AL3057
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Head cloth
- Place of origin:
England (made)
- Date:
1554-1575 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Unknown
- Materials and Techniques:
Woven silk damasks, embroidered with silk and metal thread
- Museum number:
T.235-1928
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 58c, case 5
Object Type
Together with other bed hangings, the head cloth, hung at the head of the bed, helped keep the sleeping occupants warm. It also contributed an element of luxury and colour, as well as providing an appropriate and highly visible place to show the owners' coats of arms or initials.
Makers & Making
The reuse of luxury materials was quite common and in this case more than one original dress or furnishing fabrics have been included. Such economy suggests and that this headcloth was probably not intended for the best bed. Even the richest households would make use of 'secondhand' materials, particularly expensive ones. The cream silk damask with couched embroidery may have once formed part of a bed tester or canopy that was suspended over the top of the bed. The red brocaded silk damask evidently also had another use before it was incorporated into this headcloth.
