WOMAN'S ETHNIC COSTUME BONNET Slovakia Folk Dress Kroj Embroidered Vintage Hat

Description

Women's Embroidered Bonnet from Slovakia
This richly embroidered bonnet is from the villages of Zavadka or Polomka in central Slovakia. Made of white cotton, it features dense multicolored embroidery in a variety of stitches including two rows of drawn thread work on the back panel, less often seen on bonnets. The front has a panel of bobbin lace bordered by embroidered squares that folds up when worn.
These bonnets are constructed according to a very specific local pattern - the back has a middle panel whose center is tightly pleated for about 3/4 of its height, and then the entire panel is tightly pleated for the remaining 1/4. The pleats are secured by smocking: very dense for the small top section, and spaced apart for the larger bottom section.
The bonnet is in very good condition, with just one faint stain that I could find, see last photo. No rips or tears, and all the embroidery is bright and intact. As elaborate as these bonnets are, most village women had a dozen or more stored away in their closets.
These bonnets used to be worn drooping down the back of the head like a shower cap, but in the 20th century the fashion changed, and they came to be worn with a paper or cardboard support underneath (like a pirate hat folded out of newspaper) to make the bonnet stand up high on the head.
Measurements: 15" across at widest point by 9" tall.
A fine bonnet exhibiting needlework skill from these two villages of central Slovakia! Thanks for looking, and
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