18th Century Women’s Caps
Additional Resources
Caps, from the section on Cloathing for Poor Women, in Instructions for Cutting out Apparel for the Poor (1789)
Women’s Caps (18cNewEnglandLife)
How to make an 18th century cap (Art, beauty and well-ordered chaos)
18th Century Women's Head Coverings (marquise.de)
See also bonnets, calashes, and other women’s hats.
America
- Met 1979.346.165
- MFA 49.366; “Woman's white linen cap; full gathered crown, lappets under chin; bobbin lace edging around face; drawstring around neck.”
- Met 1979.346.164, cotton, c. 1750-1799
- Met C.I.37.8.1, linen, late 18th century
- Met C.I.37.45.22, c. 1790-1804
- Met C.I.37.45.55, linen, late 18th-early 19th century
- Met 1978.88.24, linen, late 18th-early 19th century
Britain
- V&A T.984-1913, knit wool, c. 1700
- V&A T.212&A-1989, Honiton bobbin lace lappets, c. 1705-1710
- Met C.I.41.27.3
- V&A T.219-1964, c. 1770; “Embroidered silk net cap trimmed with silk bobbin lace and cherry silk ribbons, cherry silk bow in front, mounted on a cream silk lining.”
France
See also Maria Niforos.
- Met 08.180.984, linen
- Met 1976.3.5, linen
- Met 43.130.10, linen
- Maria Niforos LA-140, French lace cap-back
- Maria Niforos LA-192, Alençon lace lappets
- Maria Niforos LA-132, Valencienne lace lappet, early 18th century
- V&A T.52&A-1949, bobbin lace lappets, Valenciennes, 1730s
- Maria Niforos LA-163, Valencienne lace child or ladies cap
- V&A 775 & A-1890, needle lace lappets, 1740s
- Met 2009.300.2195a-d, linen, c. 1750; “While many 18th century lace lappets and cap backs have been preserved, it is rare to have a complete lace headwear set with all four components such as this one.”
- Met 2009.300.2261, cotton and linen, c. 1760-1790; “This peasant bonnet is from the Cher River valley in Touraine, a former province of France southwest of Paris.”
- Met 1976.96.3, cotton, c. 1785-1798
- Maria Niforos LA-131, Argentan lace cap-back, late 18th-early 19th century
Germany
- Met 08.180.984, early 18th century
Netherlands, Flanders, and Belgium
See also KIKIRPA.
- Maria Niforos LA-236, Brussels lace lappets
- Maria Niforos LA-124, Mechlin lace lappet
- Maria Niforos LA-154, Mechlin lace lappets
- Met 06.643 and Met 06.644, linen, Dutch, first quarter of the 18th century
- V&A 7427 to 7429-1861, cap with lappets, Brussels bobbin lace, 1720s
- V&A T.237-1926, bobbin lace cap back, southern Netherlands, c. 1720-1740
- Maria Niforos LA-148, Brussels lace cap-back, c. 1740
- MFA 55.588, probably Dutch; “Linen cap, with flat back and band around face worked with delicate floral pattern in raised quilting the ground completely covered with French knots”
- LACMA M.64.85.12a-c, a pair of lappets and cap back, linen bobbin lace, Brussels, c. 1720-1730
- V&A T.45&A-1949, lappets of needle lace, Brussels, 1740s
- V&A T.50-1949, cap back in bobbin lace, Malines, mid-18th century
- Maria Niforos LA-155, a pair of Brussels lace lappets, c. 1750
- V&A T.107-1916 and V&A T.107A-1916, lappets of needle lace on bobbin-made ground, Brussels, 1750s
- V&A 781 & A-1890, bobbin lace lappets, Brussels, 1750s
- MFA 38.1206, Brussels lace in “Rococo floral pattern connected by fine round mesh”
- MFA 23.703, back of a bobbin lace cap, Flanders; “The design consists of floral and rococo forms on a ground of bobbin mesh called "vrai réseau" or "droschel".”
- MFA 23.706, bobbin lace back of a cap, Flanders; “Back of cap made up of straight pieces sewed together. A design of flowers and undulating bands on mesh of the cinq-trous or carrelage variety. (The center hole is much larger than the other four.)
- Met C.I.53.3.4, cotton and silk, Flanders
Unknown
- Maria Niforos LA-133, a bobbin lace cap-back
- Met C.I.44.95, cotton, early 18th century
- Maria Niforos LA-153, bobbin lace lappet, c. 1740s
- Met 1976.96.2, linen, c. 1730-1749
- Bijlokemuseum 202, linen, c. 1751-1800
