hat

Images

A photograph of the front of the hat with brooch and bird feathers visible.

An image of the hat placed on a styrofoam headmount, frontal view, with a ruler and colour scales visible.

A close up image of the brooch on the hat.

A close up of the reverse of the hat, focused on the red tie.

A photograph showing one side of the hat, and across the top of the hat.

A close up view of where the bird feathers attach to the top of the hat.

A photograph of the inside of the hat with its lining pulled away from the hat.

A photograph of the inside of the hat with its lining flush against the interior. A gloved hand is holding the hat.

A close up of the inside of the hat, showing where the lining is fraying and has come apart from the hat.

Introduction

This ancestor is a hat made of wool, felt, silver, ribbon silk and cotton. Red, blue and black in colour, this hat is topped with eleven feathers, possibly of quail or owl, and has a base of fake brushed beaver. In the centre of the hat's crest is a silver brooch which displays five hearts and five circles. The hat's crown and semi-circular front flap show strips of red and blue silk ribbon and braids, and triangular points of blue polished cotton in a scalloped pattern. A bow made of red silk ribbon hangs from the middle of the back of the hat. A yellow wool tassel is affixed to the very top of the crown of the hat. It has been interpreted as being a bowler hat, and as being of a military style. This ancestor is currently located in the Detroit Institute of Arts.

Nation of Maker: Other

Nation of Origin

Iroquois

Date Made or Date Range: 1800

Read More About This Relative

Materials

Wool cloth, felt, silver, ribbon, silk, and cotton
Cory Willmott identified: Silk Gros Grain (red), narrow red silk ribbon, blue polished cotton (scalloped into triangular points), band 0.375" wide silk ribbon. Semi-circular front flap made of same materials. Base of crest and base of the hat there is a row of 0.125" wide blue silk braid. Both crest and crown are made from fake brushed beaver, making it a fake beaver bowler hat appearance. Eleven feathers on the crest (possibly owl? d.p. possibly quail a.c.). Silver brooch on the centre of the crest. A yellow wool tassel affixed to the very top of the crown of the hat.

Motifs and Patterns

Pair of facing triangles along the band for the circumference of the hat. A tail of six red ribbons hang from the middle of the back of the hat (four wider than two thinner ribbons). Brooch has five hearts interspersed with five circles and scalloped at the outer edge. Makers mark visible but indiscernible.

Additional Context

The hat has been interpreted as a military style hat by David Penney and as a bowler hat by Cory Willmott.

Other Notes

Cory Willmott describes the hat as a bowler hat. David Penney describes the hat as a military style hat that appears in a Benjamin West painting of Sir Guy Carleton. In the painting, Sir Carleton holds a similar hat in his hand as he sits beside a window with an ephemereal Indian behind him (Haudenoausonee man).

Dimensions: 8 × 7 × 8.5 in

Condition: fair with some moth damage. Wool is decomposing. Feathers are deteriorating.

Provenance

Current Location: Detroit Institute of Arts, MI, USA

Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 2006.103

Link to Institution's Collections Database: https://dia.org/collection/hat-96162

Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 2006

Who the Institution Acquired the Relative or Heritage Item From: 1992, sold (auction, Sotheby's, New York, New York, USA, 06/12/1992, sale 6297, lot 111). 2006-present, gift to the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

Source for Provenance information

As stated on Detroit Institute of Arts Website

About This GRASAC Record

GKS Reference Number: 24668

How to Cite this Item

Unknown Maker. "Hat" GKS ID 24668 located in the Detroit Institute of Arts, catalogue number 2006.103.

Record Creation Context

The original record was created by David Penney. It was augmented by Natasha Fares in January 2024.

Approximate Place of Origin

43.0612, -78.4489

Source of Information about Places

Northeast Woodlands, United States, North America

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