Cap

Unknown

1810–20 · cotton · Costume Institute

The close-fitting helmet shape of this cap was one of several fashionable headwear silhouettes of the first decade of the 19th century. The look would have been completed by small curls framing the face. It might also have been worn under a larger bonnet, which produced a different upper silhouette. The geometric piecing and allover intricate embroidery pattern are typical of the best examples of the empire period's embroidered cotton garments and accessories.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1810–20

Medium

cotton

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 Clifton Goff, 1935