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Object Timeline
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1949 |
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2002 |
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2024 |
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Cap (Egypt)
This is a Cap. It is dated late 13th–early 14th century and we acquired it in 1949. Its medium is untwisted silk, gilded parchment; z-spun linen lining and its technique is plain weave cloth, quilted, embroidered and sewn. It is a part of the Textiles department.
This cap was used in Mamluk Egypt, a period during which textiles were perhaps the most precious items in Islamic society. Its finely-woven blue silk fabric is interlaced with ‘strap gold’: strips of membrane coated with real gold foil, making it among the most expensive and desired fabric types in Egypt at this time. The fabric’s fine, firm weave structure and use of untwisted silks indicate a Chinese origin for the fabric, which likely arrived in Egypt by means of the famed Silk Road. The geometric and interlace designs of the embroidery, however, reflect medieval Islamic tastes rather than Chinese designs, suggesting that the hat itself was fabricated in Egypt. Erosion of the cap’s back and evidence of bodily fluid degradation suggest that the cap was used in a funerary context. The deceased was likely wealthy to have been buried in a cap of such fine fabric.
It is credited Museum purchase through gift of Anonymous Donor.
- Square (Egypt)
- warp: s-spun linen; wefts: s-spun linen, s-spun wool.
- Gift of John Pierpont Morgan.
- 1902-1-116
- Tapestry Fragment (Spain)
- silk, metallic (gilded parchment wound around silk core).
- Gift of John Pierpont Morgan.
- 1902-1-82
- Cap (Morocco)
- wool.
- Gift of Woman's Day Magazine.
- 1966-54-1
Our curators have highlighted 9 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:
- Textile (Spain)
- silk, metallic (gilded parchment wound around linen core).
- Gift of John Pierpont Morgan.
- 1902-1-251
- Poster, A New Wave of Austrian Architecture
- offset lithograph on paper.
- Gift of Massimo Vignelli.
- 1991-69-83
- Souvenir Ribbon Portrait, The Torn Hat (1820) by Thomas Sully (1783-1872)
- silk.
- Gift of Lisa Taylor.
- 1978-175-16
Its dimensions are
H x diam.: 11.4 x 15.2 cm (4 1/2 x 6 in.)
Cite this object as
Cap (Egypt); untwisted silk, gilded parchment; z-spun linen lining; H x diam.: 11.4 x 15.2 cm (4 1/2 x 6 in.); Museum purchase through gift of Anonymous Donor; 1949-64-7
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Maira Kalman Selects.
