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Cap (Headgear)

1855 (made)
Place of origin
Madras (made)

conical, beaded; Costume, bead, Madras, 1855

Object details

Categories
Textiles
Hats & Headwear
Embroidery
Fashion
India Museum
Object type
Cap (headgear)
Materials and techniques
cotton ground, stiffened wtih card and cotton fabric, with an attached network of beads.
Cotton (Textile)
Brief description
conical, beaded; Costume, bead, Madras, 1855
Dimensions
  • Diameter: 17cm
  • Height: 18cm
Gallery label
(03/10/2015-10/01/2016)
EMBELLISHMENT

Both natural and man-made products are used to decorate textiles in India. Mirror-work (associated with western India and Pakistan) is perhaps the best known. Embroiderers also sew the wing-cases of ‘jewel beetles’ (Bupestridae) on to fabric to dazzling effect. European glass beads are used to embellish garments and household objects, while minerals such as mica can be ground up and printed with adhesive onto fabric.

Mica-printed jacket
Cotton, mirror-work and adhesive-printed mica powder
Satara, Maharashtra, about 1855
V&A: 6558 (IS)

Mirror-work choli (bodice)
Cotton embroidered with silk and mirror-work
Kutch, Gujarat, about 1900
Given by Mrs A.R. Ditmas.
V&A: IS.55-1957

Hat
Cotton with glass beads
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, about 1855
V&A: 0345 (IS)

Border for a dress
Cotton muslin with beetle wing-cases and gilded silver
Possibly Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh/Telangana, about 1850
Given by Mrs Mary Gordon.
V&A: IS.486-1992
Object history
Transferred from the India Museum in 1879. 1880 Register Entry: [Case 13] '0344. BEAD CAP. Conical; Madras. 4052' According to 1880 register slip number 4052 also applies to 0344.
Bibliographic reference
Indian embroidery / Rosemary Crill ; photography by Richard Davis. London: V&A Publications, 1999 Number: 185177310X, 1851772944 (pbk.) p. 77, cat. no. 68
Other number
4052 - India Museum Slip Book
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
0345(IS)

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Record createdJune 25, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O480403/cap-headgear/
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