Object Note
Part of a set constituting of five more items – two pieces of (ZI2023.501012.1 TUNISIA, ZI2023.501012.2 ASIA, ZI2023.501012.4 ASIA, ZI2023.501012.5 OMAN, and ZI2023.501012.6 ASIA).
Object History
This colourful women’s skull cap was purchased along with five more items by Dr. Reem Tariq El Mutwalli in 2023, from Augusta Auction Company, based out of Vermont, USA, to enhance The Zay Initiative collection.
Object Features
This is a typical Turkmen women’s skull cap or (tahiya)/(taqiya) with a flat top and has been attributed to the Turkmen tribes of Afghanistan by the previous collector.
The previous collector had also attributed this piece as a men’s accessory, however, Turkmen men’s caps typically come with a conical crown while flat crown caps like this are worn by women.
It is hand woven in an array of colourful silk and woollen threads – orange, yellow, white, lavender, green, and purple – depicting abstract and geometric designs. It has a little tassel at the back in (indigo) blue wool. It is very similar in style to the silk skull caps typical to Bokhara, Uzbekistan which are far removed from the typical black skull caps of Uzbek men.
The base of the cap is possibly a thick layer of felt which has been thickly embroidered with silk threads. The piece is completely hand stitched and unlined.
Links
- Valérie Bérinstain, Mary Hunt Kahlenberg, Zaira Mis, Marcel Mis. Asian Costumes and Textiles from the Bosphorus to Fujiyama: The Zaira and Marcel Mis Collection. California: Skira, 2001.
- Suleman, Fahmida. Textiles of the Middle East and Central Asia (British Museum) The Fabric of Life. London: Thames and Hudson, 2017.
- Embroidery from Afghanistan Fabric, folios. Sheila Paine. Washington: University of Washington Press, 2006.
- Sukhareva, Olʹga Aleksandrovna. Suzani: Central Asian Decorative Embroidery. Samarkand: SMI Asia, 2013.
- Pennell, Suzanne. The Art of Gold Embroidery from Uzbekistan. Brisbane: Story Bridge Press, 2015.
- https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-iranica-online/clothing-COM_7759?lang=fr#COM-10186
- https://books.google.ae/books?id=L-ViFsLAQb0C&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
- https://nationalclothing.org/asia/112-turkmenistan/605-traditional-women%E2%80%99s-tahya-headwear-in-turkmenistan.html
- https://trc-leiden.nl/collection/?trc=TRC%202000.0120
- http://karakalpak.com/sawkele02.html
- https://central-asia.guide/turkmenistan/turkmen-culture/turkmen-clothing/
- https://trc-leiden.nl/trc-digital-exhibition/index.php/afghan-dress/item/80-turkmen-dress
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