I have encountered an odd silk high hat in our collection –
we have many of these, I’ve seen many, and this one has stymied me.
First of all, it’s a very small head size. I
have been blessed with a large and generally empty skull and it would just
balance on the top of my head -. and not in a modish Isabella Blow-type style. Therefore,
I’m assuming it’s a small woman’s or man’s; maybe a young
teenage male. It has the typical curled/curved brim, everything typical –
however, it has a deliberately placed grommet or eyelet in the center of the
top of the crown. Can anyone shed light on what this was for – I can’t
imagine one would stick a plume in there, which is what I’d like to
believe, as that is kind of fun and wacky. I was thinking maybe it was a
woman’s riding hat, and veiling or netting was attached through the hole,
but that seemed weird also.
My dear volunteer wittily said it was a place for the soul
to escape (we doing funerary and ghostly things at the moment) …
Any thoughts?
Candace Perry
Curator