Wedding Veil
Unknown Artist
1800s
Medium
silk, cotton, embroidery
Dimensions
76.2 × 75.6 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
Accession Number
1916.1235
About this artwork
Brides traditionally concealed their faces during their weddings and afterward as newly married women and on special occasions. This elaborate type, which includes a cotton netting rectangle that permitted vision, was only worn by Tajik Turkmen. The decoration features motifs that can be interpreted as birds or palmette leaves in a style that characterizes early Islamic art and that may have originated in Iran.