Bonnet
MillinerMade by
Unknown
Dateabout 1865
MediumHand-stitched white horsehair, silk, and black straw or horsehair, with decorations of fabric flowers, velvet leaves, chenille on wire, beads, laces, ribbons and cording
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (height x width x depth): 8 x 7 7/8 x 8 1/2in. (20.3 x 20 x 21.6cm)
ClassificationsCostume
Credit LineGift of Mariette Newman Fitch
Object number1952.69.16
DescriptionWoman's bonnet made of white horsehair with cream-colored silk and black horsehair or reed. The bonnet is decorated with a confection of blue and gold flowers and buds that cascade down the outside of the brim on the proper left side. The underside is also decorated with small faux flowers and white lace. Gold-colored silk and black lace complete the decorations. The horsehair is woven, as the weft, with cream-colored silk and black reed or horsehair, into stripes with a complex- weave design; the stripes are approximately 5/8 inch wide. The design achieved has small scallops of black on a woven background of the cream-colored horsehair and silk. The brim is approximately 2 3/8 inches wide at the center top, narrowing down at each side to small points that extend several inches below the line of the back of the crown. It flares slightly at the top, allowing a line of small lavender and white fabric flowers with white lace to be stitched to the underside. Some of these flowers are made from a satin fabric. The brim is lined with a white silk all around and edged with a covered wire for shape. The intersection between the brim and the crown is a subtle change in shape, the line at the top being a gentle, continuous curve for 7 1/4 inches to the angle at the back. This intersection is first covered with a gold-colored silk ribbon, 3 1/8 inches wide, that is folded and attached to the front points of the brim and draped over the bonnet, forming a bow at the top. Over and around this ribbon is a large grouping of bright blue fabric flowers with gold chenille (on wire), black bead, and thread accents. Gold velvet leaves and petals are also used on this decoration, which covers the proper left side of the bonnet next to the brim.
The crown of the bonnet is slightly misshapen, so it is difficult to determine the diameter of the back; it is approximately 4 1/2 inches wide x 4 3/4 inches high. The crown is 1 1/4 inches deep at the base. A narrow curtain of the decorative braid is stitched to the bottom of the bonnet, 1 1/4 inches wide at the center and narrowing at each end. The bottom of this curtain is bound with a strip of a two-tone braid of straw or grass. A wire support is attached to both the bottom of the crown and the bottom edge of the curtain. Over this curtain is a bavolet (or curtain) made of the gold silk ribbon which is folded with wide box pleats and sewn onto the base of the bonnet. This second curtain is edged at the bottom with a black net lace and a fine, cream-colored cording. The ties are an extension of the gold ribbon ornamenting the bonnet's top; they extend approximately 24 inches from where the ribbon is attached to the front points of the brim.
The crown is lined with two different silks. One is the silk also used to line the brim. The second silk also lines the silk bavolet. It is an ivory-colored taffeta with pique dots.
The crown of the bonnet is slightly misshapen, so it is difficult to determine the diameter of the back; it is approximately 4 1/2 inches wide x 4 3/4 inches high. The crown is 1 1/4 inches deep at the base. A narrow curtain of the decorative braid is stitched to the bottom of the bonnet, 1 1/4 inches wide at the center and narrowing at each end. The bottom of this curtain is bound with a strip of a two-tone braid of straw or grass. A wire support is attached to both the bottom of the crown and the bottom edge of the curtain. Over this curtain is a bavolet (or curtain) made of the gold silk ribbon which is folded with wide box pleats and sewn onto the base of the bonnet. This second curtain is edged at the bottom with a black net lace and a fine, cream-colored cording. The ties are an extension of the gold ribbon ornamenting the bonnet's top; they extend approximately 24 inches from where the ribbon is attached to the front points of the brim.
The crown is lined with two different silks. One is the silk also used to line the brim. The second silk also lines the silk bavolet. It is an ivory-colored taffeta with pique dots.
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