#2292 Sold
Regency straw bonnet, 1820s
This important historical bonnet is a once-in-a-lifetime find. When I first saw it, my heart was racing. If you are addicted to antique clothing and textiles, you know the feeling. The bonnet speaks to us across the ages.
Fashioned from natural colored straw and lined with peach silk, the bonnet is all original. Even without decoration, bonnets from this period command attention with their imposing sculptural shape. The presence of original decoration is a bonus for the collector.
The crown is decorated with branches of velveteen flowers and with a whimsical band of raffia corkscrew curls. We can still thrill to the beauty of the high spirited millinery composition.
This delightful bonnet certainly kept the sun out of the face of the pretty young thing who wore it to church on Sunday. But we see the bonnet's real raison d'etre in the original decorations: to show the wearer is fairer than the fairest flower of the field.
The condition is almost excellent. The edge binding around the brim is fraying slightly. Also, there are a few small few holes in the lining. I can easily overlook these minor imperfections as a tradeoff for the all original decoration.
The bonnet is 13" from front to back.
