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<em>Beniqa</em> were stylish headdresses that women wore when visiting the <em>hammam</em> (steam bath). The linen fabric absorbed the damp from their wet hair. With its gold and silver metal thread, shimmering spangles, and brightly colored threads forming flowers and vines, this beniqa was a ceremonial garment worn for the ritual bath before a Jewish woman’s wedding; it was also part of her dowry. After toweling off her hair, a woman made two braids, which she would then twist into the cap’s fabric and tie on her head, with the gold-fringed ends trailing down.

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Page
1
Source index
0
Type
photo
Media ID
b53ac76387453eac
Size
unknown

Document data

ID
95485
Core
obj
Type
object
DTO data
{
    "id": "95485",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Headdress (beniqa)",
    "description": "<em>Beniqa</em> were stylish headdresses that women wore when visiting the <em>hammam</em> (steam bath). The linen fabric absorbed the damp from their wet hair. With its gold and silver metal thread, shimmering spangles, and brightly colored threads forming flowers and vines, this beniqa was a ceremonial garment worn for the ritual bath before a Jewish woman’s wedding; it was also part of her dowry. After toweling off her hair, a woman made two braids, which she would then twist into the cap’s fabric and tie on her head, with the gold-fringed ends trailing down.",
    "date": "1800s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1221",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79477021"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Embroidery"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1221/1916.1221_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1221/1916.1221_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1221/1916.1221_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 210.8 x 17.1 cm (83 x 6 3/4 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Africa, North Africa, Algeria, Algerian embroiderer"
    ],
    "accession": "1916.1221"
}

Context sent to Scholar

Document identity
{
    "localId": "95485",
    "label": "Headdress (beniqa)",
    "core": "obj",
    "dtoType": "object"
}
Document source metadata
{
    "id": "95485",
    "contentType": "object",
    "title": "Headdress (beniqa)",
    "description": "<em>Beniqa</em> were stylish headdresses that women wore when visiting the <em>hammam</em> (steam bath). The linen fabric absorbed the damp from their wet hair. With its gold and silver metal thread, shimmering spangles, and brightly colored threads forming flowers and vines, this beniqa was a ceremonial garment worn for the ritual bath before a Jewish woman’s wedding; it was also part of her dowry. After toweling off her hair, a woman made two braids, which she would then twist into the cap’s fabric and tie on her head, with the gold-fringed ends trailing down.",
    "date": "1800s",
    "citation": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1221",
    "rights": "CC0",
    "rightsUri": "CC0",
    "language": "en",
    "wikidata": [
        "Q79477021"
    ],
    "genreSpecific": [
        "Embroidery"
    ],
    "iiifBase": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1221/1916.1221_web.jpg",
    "thumbnailUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1221/1916.1221_web.jpg",
    "largeImageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1221/1916.1221_web.jpg",
    "imageCount": 1,
    "source": "import",
    "dimensionsRaw": "Overall: 210.8 x 17.1 cm (83 x 6 3/4 in.)",
    "cul": [
        "Africa, North Africa, Algeria, Algerian embroiderer"
    ],
    "accession": "1916.1221"
}
Document source extras
{
    "tec": "Linen, silk, and metal",
    "tombstone": "Headdress (beniqa), 1800s. Africa, North Africa, Algeria, Algerian embroiderer. Linen, silk, and metal; overall: 210.8 x 17.1 cm (83 x 6 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade, 1916.1221",
    "collection": "T - Islamic",
    "didYouKnow": "Slender gray lines made in pencil or chalk trace out unstitched designs on this elaborate ritual cap.",
    "citations": [
        {
            "citation": "Windmuller-Luna, Kristen. \"Textile stories from North Africa.\" <em>HALI </em>224 (Summer 2025): 54-61.",
            "page_number": "Mentioned: p. 57, 60; Reproduced: p. 55, fig. 3"
        }
    ],
    "url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1221",
    "creditline": "Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade",
    "updatedAt": "2026-05-29 05:07:29.108000",
    "imageUrl": "https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1221/1916.1221_print.jpg",
    "sourceId": 95485,
    "dept": "Textiles",
    "coll": "T - Islamic",
    "med": "Linen, silk, and metal",
    "thumbnail_url": null,
    "image_url": null
}
Page context
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