Skull Cap
ca. 1980 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Caps are the most elaborate part of traditional Uygur dress, and there are many regional variations in the decoration, which can also identify the sex, age and profession of the wearer. Colourful skull caps are worn by young women. This example has a square base, and comprises four triangular panels, each of which has an identical stylised rose pattern, embroidered in tent stitches with cotton threads in shades of red and blue against a contrasting green background. The canvas-work embroidery gives the textured surface the appearance of a flat-woven carpet. The cap can be folded when not in use.
The Uygurs call this type of cap tashkent doppa, tracing its origin back to a popular style worn in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. The term is now a generic one used to describe a geometric floral-pattern skull cap with tent-stitch embroidery.
The Uygurs call this type of cap tashkent doppa, tracing its origin back to a popular style worn in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. The term is now a generic one used to describe a geometric floral-pattern skull cap with tent-stitch embroidery.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Cotton embroidery with a velvet rim, lined with cotton and stiffened interlining |
| Brief description | Floral skull cap for a Uygur woman (tashkent doppa), silk velvet; embroidery in cotton, from Urumqi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, ca. 1980. |
| Physical description | The cap is entirely covered with close tent stitch embroidery, predominantly in green, pink and red. It has a black velvet rim. It is lined with red cotton and has a stiffened interlining. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given by Verity Wilson |
| Object history | Purchased in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, October 1980. Registered File number 1981/172. |
| Historical context | Similar examples in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. See A collection of the Xinjiang Uygur folk cap designs ed. Zhang Hengde et al. (Urumqi, 1983) |
| Summary | Caps are the most elaborate part of traditional Uygur dress, and there are many regional variations in the decoration, which can also identify the sex, age and profession of the wearer. Colourful skull caps are worn by young women. This example has a square base, and comprises four triangular panels, each of which has an identical stylised rose pattern, embroidered in tent stitches with cotton threads in shades of red and blue against a contrasting green background. The canvas-work embroidery gives the textured surface the appearance of a flat-woven carpet. The cap can be folded when not in use. The Uygurs call this type of cap tashkent doppa, tracing its origin back to a popular style worn in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. The term is now a generic one used to describe a geometric floral-pattern skull cap with tent-stitch embroidery. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | FE.17-1983 |
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| Record created | February 12, 2000 |
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