CloseCollections | Music, Literature, Dance and Fashion | Fashion | Traditional clothing: wedding costumes and jewellery [35 Objects]
Late 18th century to mid 19th century
The British Museum
London, United Kingdom
See Database EntryThe tantur is a metal cone worn on the head and covered with a veil. This type of headdress, an accessory worn exclusively by Druze women, was worn during ceremonies such as weddings.
1801
Jordan Museum for Costumes and Jewellery, Department of Antiquities
Amman, Jordan
Bridal jewellery worn on the breasts (Mingjuska so vot and necklace)
19th century
Museum of Macedonia
Skopje, North Macedonia
The jewels worn by a bride as an expression of the size of her dowry and her family’s wealth could be very heavy. For this reason, jewels were sewn to pieces of fabric much as seen in this jewelled chest piece worn by brides in Belichica Gorna Reka, Macedonia.
Bridal breast jewellery (Chaprag)
19th century
Museum of Macedonia
Skopje, North Macedonia
The jewellery a bride wore sometimes had a practical purpose; this necklace helped to hold up the neckline of her dress. Necklaces of this type are typical of the Ohrid-Prespa region in Macedonia.
Traditional bridal costume and jewellery
19th century
Museum of Macedonia
Skopje, North Macedonia
It is the opulence and expense of wedding dresses that has seen many of them conserved over time, more than grooms’ outfits. The type of headdress or jewellery and the decoration on a dress denote the size of the bride’s dowry, her family status, the region she is from and/or her ethnic group. Among other garments, the outfit would have comprised a richly decorated headdress, or fez, from which coins were suspended.
19th century
National Museum of Qatar
Doha, Qatar
A bride tended to provide a large part of her dowry in the form of jewellery, which she would wear at her wedding. Jewellery worn by brides was made of gold or silver and often decorated with coloured beads or coins; precious stones for the wealthy.
19th century
National Museum of Qatar
Doha, Qatar
Women would wear jewellery, which often came from her trousseau and demonstrated the importance of her family, to important ceremonies and celebrations such as weddings and family reunions. The gold, pearls and precious stones of this necklace suggests how valuable some of this jewellery could be.
19th century
National Museum of Qatar
Doha, Qatar
The groom also wore a special costume for his wedding ceremony. Although the groom’s costume tended not to be as ornate as the bride’s, it did indicate his origin. This bridal coat from Qatar is an example of this.
19th century
Private collection
Tunis, Tunisia
Certain pieces of jewellery were only worn by brides: the rihana is a long gold chain bearing another chain of perfumed paste; the dress meanwhile is typical of Nabeul, a coastal region of north-eastern Tunisia. While the gold chain denotes the importance of this ceremony for the family, the dress indicates ethnic group or regional provenance.
19th–20th century
Musée des Arts et Traditions Populaires
Tunis, Tunisia
The decoration and the colour of the wedding dress reveal the bride’s origin and the wealth of her family. Some of the decorative motifs have apotropaic functions, while others refer to the bride’s future role as mother. In this case, some of the decorative motifs relate to fertility.
Keswa kabbous (wedding outfit)
19th–20th century
Office de l’Artisanat de Tunis
Tunis, Tunisia
Some wedding outfits were made from reams of cloth and richly decorated with thread and appliqué. The breeches and short-sleeved bodice seen here weigh more than 10 kg; the breeches are more than four meters long and embroidered with silver thread and appliquéd silver sequins, providing an indication of the importance of the ceremony. Given the size and weight of the outfit, the bride would have been seated during the wedding ceremony.
1825
Benaki Museum
Athens, Greece
European artists were keen to show different customs from other lands. Here a Greek bride waits for the groom to finish his ritual shave. The care the artist has taken in showing every detail of the bride’s dress betrays his interest in it.
c. 1881
National Museum of Prehistory and Ethnography “Luigi Pigorini”
Rome, Italy
The Druze, a religious minority from the Middle East, is distinguished by their dress. Druze brides attracted attention on account of their high headdresses, formed using a decorated metal cone or tantur. This type of costume and headdress fascinated European visitors, who documented it widely.
1885/1886
The National Museum
Belgrade, Serbia
This painting depicts a bride as she is being helped to dress, but actually illustrates an important moment in the woman’s life as she is about to join another family and perhaps move home. It is the tension of this change that the artist depicts, seen in the bride’s serious expression in contrast to that of her assistants, who joyfully prepare her for the celebration.