Mourning poke bonnet

Unknown

ca. 1840 · straw, silk · Costume Institute

The style of the poke bonnet manifests the demure and modest style that followed the young Queen Victoria's accession to the throne in 1838. This severe all-black example was probably worn for mourning, a long-standing custom that the Queen elevated to a social institution, especially after the death of her beloved husband, Prince Albert.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1840

Medium

straw, silk

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. James Dowd Lester, 1942