Handkerchief thumbnail 1
Handkerchief thumbnail 2
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Handkerchief

1898-1903 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Bengal (made)

White handkerchief with black borders, with cotton warps and silk wefts (except the black wefts which are cotton). The selvedges are woven with the name, titles and occupation of Colonel T.H. Hendley.

Object details

Categories
Clothing
Textiles
Parasol Foundation Trust Indian Textiles Cataloguing Project
Object type
Handkerchief
Materials and techniques
Cotton, silk, woven
Cotton (Textile)
Silk
Woven
Brief description
Textile, cotton and silk handkerchief, Bengal, probably Santipur, ca.1898-1903
Physical description
White handkerchief with black borders, with cotton warps and silk wefts (except the black wefts which are cotton). The selvedges are woven with the name, titles and occupation of Colonel T.H. Hendley.
Dimensions
  • Length: 51cm
  • Width: 49.5cm
Marks and inscriptions
‘COLONEL T. H. HENDLEY, C. I .E., I. M. S., INSPECTOR-GENERAL OF CIVIL HOSPITALS, BENGAL’ (inscription woven into two of the object’s borders )
Gallery label
(03/10/2015- 10/01/2016)
BENGAL HANDKERCHIEFS

Traders exported handkerchiefs made in Bengal to Europe and North America. Printed silk choppas (from Hindi chhapna: 'to print') were hugely popular, as were tie-dyed silk bandannoes (from Hindi bandhana: 'to tie'), the origin of the modern bandanna handkerchief. Fine Bengali cottons were also used for handkerchiefs, sometimes with mottos or names woven into their borders.

Length of bandannoe handkerchiefs
Tie-dyed silk
Berhampur, West Bengal, 1830-80
V&A: 18.678-1883

Choppa handkerchief
Printed silk
Kasimbazar, West Bengal, 1820-50
V&A: 18.17-2008

Personalised handkerchief
Cotton with silk borders, woven with the name and titles of Colonel T.H. Hendley
Santipur, West Bengal, 1898-1903
Given by Mrs G.M. Hendley
V&A: 1S.218-1992
Credit line
Given by Mrs G. M. Hendley
Historical context
Intended for use as a garment, clothing.
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
IS.218-1992

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O473245/handkerchief-unknown/
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