Cap

Unknown

late 19th–early 20th century · wool, silk, metallic thread · Costume Institute

This elegant tasseled cap, called a "Féssi" in Greek (and often known as a "Fez" in English), was popularized as ladies' headgear by Amalia of Oldenburg, the Greek queen from 1836 to 1862. At her arrival in newly independent Greece, Queen Amalia created her own romanticized imagining of a national dress, incorporating different elements from Greece's many– and very different– regional costume traditions. The ladies' fez, so distinguished by its much longer tassel and distinctive woven gold sheaf, was an eye-catching characteristic of the so-called "Amalia Costume" (stolí Amalías).

Artist

Unknown

Date

late 19th–early 20th century

Medium

wool, silk, metallic thread

Culture

Greek

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Angelika W. Frink, 1953