Hat
Unknown Artist
ca. 1870
Medium
Horsehair, silk, cotton
Classification
Hat
Culture
American
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Ellen A. Hutton, 1930
Accession Number
2009.300.4191
Art Historical Context
Step into the refined world of 1870s American fashion with this exquisite *Hat*, crafted around 1870 by an unknown. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume, this piece exemplifies the Victorian era's emphasis on elaborate headwear, when hats were essential accessories signaling social status and personal style. Made from horsehair, silk, and cotton, reflects the ingenuity of everyday materials transformed into wearable art, originating from the Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection and gifted through Ellen A. Hutton in 1930. Horsehair, prized for its stiffness and lightweight durabili...