Headdress Ornament

A hair ornament mounted on a slender metal shaft, its openwork silver-gilt frame covered with brilliant turquoise kingfisher feathers. Peony blossoms, leaves and a stylized bat-like motif are arranged in a fan, with red glass beads at the centers and small dangling beads below.

Look closer: A small stylized bat motif sits in the upper center of the headdress, among the feathered openwork.

Artist

Unknown

Date

1800s–1900s

Medium

Copper-silver alloy, gilding, kingfisher feathers, glass beads

Source

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Size

3072 × 2048 px

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Howard L. Ginaven