Maiden's Head Ornament

Identifier

http://dp.la/api/items/728ebf536073df382694d3bd50c0a033

Title

Maiden's Head Ornament

Creator

Dr. John B. White

Date

1876

Description

FROM CARD: "INVENTORIED 1974."
Handspun and dyed wool textile. There are warp ends (a multiple element structure), but it's also looped (usually associated with single-element structures), and it's oblique (no wefts). It's not woven, knit, sprang, or knotted in any normal way.
"Head ornament worn by young maidens particularly young virgins. The hair is drawn together behind the head and attached to the headdress.” and “Young girls who are unmarried often have No. 9 [21,504] affixed to the back hair and No. 49 [21,555-21,556] with mirror around the neck.” per White's original catalog in the NAA.
6 Aug 2019
1

Subject

Anthropology
Ethnology
Dr. John B. White
Indians of North America
Apache Indians
Native Americans

Source

Smithsonian Institution

Relation

https://ids.si.edu/ids/deliveryService/id/ark:/65665/m3c52eba3568164040b07e89921136dfb2/90

References

http://collections.si.edu/search/results.htm?q=record_ID=nmnhanthropology_8361149&repo=DPLA

Subject

Anthropology
Ethnology
Dr. John B. White
Indians of North America
Apache Indians
Native Americans

Citation

Dr. John B. White, “Maiden's Head Ornament,” Center for Knit and Crochet Digital Repository, accessed August 23, 2026, https://digital.centerforknitandcrochet.org/items/show/27834.

Comments