- Museum number
- Eu1919,-.474.a-b
- Description
-
A woman's hat, or cap (ládjogahpir'), with a high extension on the crown (a), its shape held in place with a hollow piece of carved wood (b). Made of red wool woven cloth, commercially made. Fitted across the forehead, with flaps either side, secured under the chin with yellow plaited wool cord and a strip of printed cloth. Blue wool cloth stitched to section framing face (decorated with two lines of cream cotton rickrack) and back of neck. Above front is a wide piece of polychrome brocaded silk (?) cloth, with another line of cream rickrack above. Two strips of blue and yellow cloth stitched in a vertical line to hat extension.
- Production date
- 1900-1919
- Dimensions
-
Length: 36.50 centimetres
-
Width: 24 centimetres
- Curator's comments
- The following information kindly provided by Outi Pieski and Eeva-Kristiina Harlin in July 2017: 'The carved wood horn-shaped element, or 'fierra', can be made of birch, pine or aspen, even alder. it is most likely to be a piece cut at the point where a branch juts from the trunk, ie: not carved from a block of wood. The wood needed to be well seasoned for some time before the carving was attempted to ensure it was firm enough to be hollowed out and chiselled very thinly. The colour of the fierra maybe resemble cow horn, because it is processed with bark. This creates a dark tone. Sometimes a partially rotted branch would have been used as the centre would be softer and easier to cut out. It is a crafting skill which has been lost. The wooden piece would outlive the cloth covering and would be re-covered time and again to create a new hat when the old one wore out.
Wood is the traditional material. Surprisingly, it was never made from reindeer horn. According to some sources the fierra was earlier on made from 'sisti', that is, reindeer leather processed with bark. One such fierra is in the collections of Museum of European Cultures in Berlin, but it is exceptional and all other examples are made of wood. It is possible that a firm piece of felted wool, interwoven with pieces of birch bark and much smaller in size than the wooden version, may have been used in much earlier times. The key thing is the forward thrusting shape.
This form of hat was a deliberate symbol of women’s strong position in Sami society. Lutheran influences forced changes in this regard and such ostentatious signs of female power were discouraged, to the point where women no longer felt comfortable wearing these flamboyant headpieces. (see reference below) Women’s headgear was subsequently toned down to such a degree that these remarkable hats were all but forgotten about.'
For further discussion, see Eeva-Kristiina Harlin & Outi Pieski, 'The Ládjogahpir – The Foremothers` Hat of Pride', Karasjok (Davvi Girji), Norway, 2020.
For exmaples of these hats in the Museum of European Cultures, Berlin, see http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=direct/1/ResultLightboxView/moduleBottomContextFunctionBar.bottomNavigator.back&sp=10&sp=Scollection&sp=SfieldValue&sp=0&sp=0&sp=3&sp=Slightbox_3x4&sp=12&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=F&sp=0 (accessed 11 Nov 2020), and for a carved wood interior element, see http://www.smb-digital.de/eMuseumPlus?service=direct/1/ResultLightboxView/result.t2.collection_lightbox.$TspTitleLink$0.link&sp=10&sp=Scollection&sp=SfieldValue&sp=0&sp=0&sp=3&sp=Slightbox_3x4&sp=0&sp=Sdetail&sp=0&sp=F&sp=T&sp=4.
For Lutheran attitudes to the wearing of these hats, see Spencer, Arthur, ‘The Lapps’ New York, 1978, p. 118, noting that the hats were criticised by Lars Levi Læstadius, a Swedish Lutheran pastor, of partly Sami ancestry, as ‘horned’ or ‘devil’ hats.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
Exhibited:
2020-2021 October-Feb, London, BM, Arctic: culture and climate
- Acquisition date
- 1919
- Acquisition notes
- Acquired by donor in Boris Gleb, together with other parts of the same attire: Eu1919,-475: dress and Eu1919,-476: trousers. Boris Gleb is on the border between Russia and Norway in Murmansk Oblast. It was an important meeting place in the late 19th and early 20th century. The original label with object reads: 'Cap of Russian Lapland peasant - part of full dress'.
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- Eu1919,-.474.a-b
- Additional IDs
-
CDMS number: Eu1919C3.474 (old CDMS no.)