Cap thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Cap

1800-1880 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Cap, plain weave cotton, quilted, lined with plain weave cotton, faced with silk satin and embroidered with silk in running and chain stitches.

Four conical curved sections of white cotton sewn together and quilted using white silk in a series of lines following either the contour of the section or the main motif which is a stylized plant form in an inverted T-shape. This and the decorative bands outlining the contours of zigzags, triangles and small lozenges and the delineated rectangle near the base of each similarly patterned section are worked with black silk. The last 3 cm of the cap on 2 sides has been left unstitched but has been faced. On one of the 4 sections the black silk has worn and been replaced with grey, green or yellow silk and a 6-petalled rosette has been added and one 2 of the base rectangles a black arabesque meander has been worked.

Lining: two types of blue plain weave cotton; the quilting stitches, the cords and the embroidery stitches show through this lining.
Facing: pieced; bias-cut satin with alternate stripes of white and magenta separated by fine yellow and black stripes all woven with blue weft with a small floral motif on the white stripe.
Embroidery Thread: black silk, S-twist; with repairs in grey, green and yellow silk; 2S.
Cotton: Z-twist.
There is a small cream silk loop at the apex - possibly for a tassel or for hanging.

Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
cotton yarn, silk thread, weaving, quilting, sewing, embroidering
Brief description
A cap, with silk threads, Iran, 19th century
Physical description
Cap, plain weave cotton, quilted, lined with plain weave cotton, faced with silk satin and embroidered with silk in running and chain stitches.

Four conical curved sections of white cotton sewn together and quilted using white silk in a series of lines following either the contour of the section or the main motif which is a stylized plant form in an inverted T-shape. This and the decorative bands outlining the contours of zigzags, triangles and small lozenges and the delineated rectangle near the base of each similarly patterned section are worked with black silk. The last 3 cm of the cap on 2 sides has been left unstitched but has been faced. On one of the 4 sections the black silk has worn and been replaced with grey, green or yellow silk and a 6-petalled rosette has been added and one 2 of the base rectangles a black arabesque meander has been worked.

Lining: two types of blue plain weave cotton; the quilting stitches, the cords and the embroidery stitches show through this lining.
Facing: pieced; bias-cut satin with alternate stripes of white and magenta separated by fine yellow and black stripes all woven with blue weft with a small floral motif on the white stripe.
Embroidery Thread: black silk, S-twist; with repairs in grey, green and yellow silk; 2S.
Cotton: Z-twist.
There is a small cream silk loop at the apex - possibly for a tassel or for hanging.
Dimensions
  • Height: 29cm
  • Circumference: 56.5cm
Bibliographic reference
Published in 'Iranian Textiles' by Jennifer Wearden and Patricia L Baker (V&A Publishing, 2010) Plate 67. Both the outside and the inside of the cap are illustrated.
Collection
Accession number
CIRC.406-1911

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Record createdJuly 15, 2008
Record URL
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