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Source 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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
95485
label
Headdress (beniqa)
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
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
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79477021
genreSpecific
Embroidery
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
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
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:07:29.108000
sourceId
95485
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Islamic
med
Linen, silk, and metal
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
b53ac76387453eac