Nightcap
1600-1624 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
This nightcap is a typical example of informal headwear for a wealthy man. Although only worn in the privacy of home, it is a luxurious garment.
Ownership & Use
Covering the head for both men and women was an important sartorial custom in Western Europe up until 1960s. From a health perspective, head coverings were considered necessary to protect against chills and disease. In literature and paintings, to be bareheaded often signified emotional distress or even insanity.
The use of the adjective 'night' in describing various types of informal garments, as in nightcap or nightgown, is sometimes confusing. It refers to 'night clothes', that is, informal clothing worn in the evening, after the formal public attire of the day, rather than to garments that were actually worn in bed.
Designs & Designing
The nightcap's pattern of roses, strawberries, grapes and vine leaves characterises embroidery of the early 17th century. Most needlework designs of the period were naturalistic interpretations of flowers, birds and insects, often copied from herbals and emblem books. By the 1620s several books had been published specifically for embroidery, often with patterns specially adapted for the shape of the nightcap.
This nightcap is a typical example of informal headwear for a wealthy man. Although only worn in the privacy of home, it is a luxurious garment.
Ownership & Use
Covering the head for both men and women was an important sartorial custom in Western Europe up until 1960s. From a health perspective, head coverings were considered necessary to protect against chills and disease. In literature and paintings, to be bareheaded often signified emotional distress or even insanity.
The use of the adjective 'night' in describing various types of informal garments, as in nightcap or nightgown, is sometimes confusing. It refers to 'night clothes', that is, informal clothing worn in the evening, after the formal public attire of the day, rather than to garments that were actually worn in bed.
Designs & Designing
The nightcap's pattern of roses, strawberries, grapes and vine leaves characterises embroidery of the early 17th century. Most needlework designs of the period were naturalistic interpretations of flowers, birds and insects, often copied from herbals and emblem books. By the 1620s several books had been published specifically for embroidery, often with patterns specially adapted for the shape of the nightcap.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Linen, coloured silk and silver-gilt thread, with silver-gilt bobbin lace and spangles |
| Brief description | Cap, embroidered with metal threads and silk on linen with metal laces, England, 1600-24. |
| Physical description | Cap, linen, coloured silk & silver-gilt thread with silver-gilt bobbin lace & spangles. Close fitting cap in cream linen, rising from a headband with separate panels worked in a pattern of roses, strawberries, grapes and vine leaves. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Purchased from Christie, Mason & Woods in 1926, together with T.259-1926, an early 17c embroidered waistcoat part, for a total of £65 5s. |
| Historical context | Richly decorated caps such as this one were informal headwear for aristocratic gentlemen. They were worn in the privacy of home and never seen in public. Nevertheless they were very elaborately embroidered with silver-gilt thread and coloured silks and trimmed with silver-gilt bobbin lace and spangles. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type This nightcap is a typical example of informal headwear for a wealthy man. Although only worn in the privacy of home, it is a luxurious garment. Ownership & Use Covering the head for both men and women was an important sartorial custom in Western Europe up until 1960s. From a health perspective, head coverings were considered necessary to protect against chills and disease. In literature and paintings, to be bareheaded often signified emotional distress or even insanity. The use of the adjective 'night' in describing various types of informal garments, as in nightcap or nightgown, is sometimes confusing. It refers to 'night clothes', that is, informal clothing worn in the evening, after the formal public attire of the day, rather than to garments that were actually worn in bed. Designs & Designing The nightcap's pattern of roses, strawberries, grapes and vine leaves characterises embroidery of the early 17th century. Most needlework designs of the period were naturalistic interpretations of flowers, birds and insects, often copied from herbals and emblem books. By the 1620s several books had been published specifically for embroidery, often with patterns specially adapted for the shape of the nightcap. |
| Bibliographic reference | John Lea Nevinson, Catalogue of English Domestic Embroidery of the Sixteenth & Seventeenth Centuries, Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Textiles, London: HMSO, 1938, p.85 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.258-1926 |
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| Record created | January 22, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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