Name of Object:

Headdress ornament

Location:

Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom

Holding Museum:

Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Museums

About Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum, Glasgow Museums, Glasgow

Date of Object:

Hegira 13th century / AD 19th century

Museum Inventory Number:

A.1987.32.b

Material(s) / Technique(s):

Nickel silver-plate with metal chains and coins, and glass and stone beads.

Dimensions:

Diameter (of disk) 13.5 cm; depth (of disk, convex) 3 cm; length of short chains 12 cm; length of long chains 28.5 cm

Period / Dynasty:

Ottoman

Provenance:

Ramallah, Palestine.

Description:

Made up of a nickel silver-plate disc with metal chains, Ottoman coins, charms and beads, this headdress ornament would have been worn as part of a bridal outfit, fixed to the top of a bonnet made of embroidered fabric, and shaped to fit the head. One of the charms is a French medal of Saint Joseph, and the other is the Hand of Fatima. The coins, except for one Spanish coin that shows the name of King Phillip V of Spain, are Ottoman, dated between AH 1180 and 1260 (AD 1766–1844). The coins in such headdresses had two functions, one simply about decoration, and the other as an indicator of the bride's wealth; her social status and the value of her dowry. The presence of the Christian saint's medal centred in the front section of the disk draws attention to the probability that this headdress may have belonged to a Christian bride! In Palestine, which is full of intermingling Christian and Muslim villages, this headdress is a good example of the cultural diversity of the Ottoman Middle East. Other European coins popular in Middle Eastern jewellery include coins depicting the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa.

The brides of Ramallah (a predominantly Christian town) would have worn headdresses such as this one for their wedding celebrations. A woman would be free to either add more coins or to take some off for personal use, for home improvements for example. Many of these headdresses were passed down through generations, and when gold coins came into fashion, many of the silver coins were replaced.

A Christian saint’s medal attached to the front of this ornament reveals that it belonged to an Arab Christian bride from the Ottoman period in Palestine. It would have been worn as part of the bridal outfit of a lady from Ramallah. The silver coins are Ottoman from between AH 1180 and 1260 (AD 1766–1844).

How date and origin were established:

Stylistic analysis and dating of the Ottoman coinage used on the headdress of between AH 1180 and 1260 (AD 1766–1844).

How Object was obtained:

Donated to the Museum in 1987.

Selected bibliography:

Weir, S., Palestinian Costume, London, 1989.

Citation of this web page:

Noorah Al-Gailani "Headdress ornament" in Discover Islamic Art, Museum With No Frontiers, 2025.
https://islamicart.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;uk;Mus04;38;en

Prepared by: Noorah Al-GailaniNoorah Al-Gailani

Noorah Al-Gailani is Curator for Islamic Civilisations at Glasgow Museums, Scotland. With a BA in Interior Design from the College of Fine Arts, Baghdad University and three years' experience in design and folk art preservation, she moved to the UK in 1992. On completing her MA in Museum Studies at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London in 1994, she worked as Project Officer at the Grange Museum of Community History documenting the presence of Muslim communities in the London Borough of Brent. In 1995 she was Assistant Curator, Ancient Monuments Laboratory, English Heritage, and in 1996 became Curator for John Wesley's House and the Museum of Methodism in London. She co-authored The Islamic Year: Surahs, Stories and Celebrations (Stroud: Hawthorn Press, 2002) for non-Muslim children. Since 2003 she has been based at The Burrell Collection in Glasgow, working across the city's museums to interpret Islamic art and culture, ancient and modern, through research, exhibitions and educational activities.
Copyedited by: Mandi GomezMandi Gomez

Amanda Gomez is a freelance copy-editor and proofreader working in London. She studied Art History and Literature at Essex University (1986–89) and received her MA (Area Studies Africa: Art, Literature, African Thought) from SOAS in 1990. She worked as an editorial assistant for the independent publisher Bellew Publishing (1991–94) and studied at Bookhouse and the London College of Printing on day release. She was publications officer at the Museum of London until 2000 and then took a role at Art Books International, where she worked on projects for independent publishers and arts institutions that included MWNF’s English-language editions of the books series Islamic Art in the Mediterranean. She was part of the editorial team for further MWNF iterations: Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean Virtual Museum and the illustrated volume Discover Islamic Art in the Mediterranean.

True to its ethos of connecting people through the arts, MWNF has provided Amanda with valuable opportunities for discovery and learning, increased her editorial experience, and connected her with publishers and institutions all over the world. More recently, the projects she has worked on include MWNF’s Sharing History Virtual Museum and Exhibition series, Vitra Design Museum’s Victor Papanek and Objects of Desire, and Haus der Kulturen der Welt’s online publication 2 or 3 Tigers and its volume Race, Nation, Class.

MWNF Working Number: UK4 43