Horsehair bonnet with ribbons

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A horsehair bonnet with ribbons (a). The bonnet’s understructure is made from two layers, buckram and open-weave stiffened cotton with starch. The bonnet’s exterior is constructed of braided horsehair ribbon that spirals from the crown’s top and is attached with cotton thread. At the center front of the bonnet, a brown ribbed-silk ribbon forms two loose loops. A black silk faille ribbon is stitched behind the proper right loop. Underneath these loops, a brown ribbed-silk ribbon wraps around the bonnet. This ribbon is tucked and pleated to create different widths. At the center front and sides of the bonnet, the bottom edge is decorated with a gathered ribbed-silk ribbon. Black novelty open weave silk ribbon and ivory ribbed silk is gathered and attached at the center front of the bonnet's interior. Along the bottom edge, an internal wire wrapped in brown cotton thread is encased by brown silk bobbinet and brown ribbed silk ribbon.

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