This section includes all types of accessories from hats to belts.
Smoking Cap
Catalogue No. 1985.085.07
Turkish
Pine green velvet with lighter tone of pine green leaf-and-vine embroidery and tassel
Smoking Caps were worn when men would go out to smoke in order to keep their hair smoke free. It was usually adorned with a matching smoking jacket as well. Men were gifted these items from the women in their lives like wives, sisters, or mothers. This specific smoking cap has some elements of a traditional Turkish smoking cap. The singular tassel is a very telling part of the Turkish cap for this style gained popularity during the Victorian Era's obsession with Orientalism. However, it's not as detailed or circular as a more traditional smoking cap. This could possibly be because the fashion of smoking caps had moved from gaudy ornate designs to more simple ones.
Wedding Ring
Martha Hansen
1931
Gold and Diamonds
1997.137.10
This ring is a combination of a wedding and engagement ring. Martha Hansen received this ring in 1931. This ring is made of 14k gold, and the two rings are attached. On the inside of the ring there is an engraving that says, "Love is Eternal". This ring would of course be worn everywhere but it was gifted on two celebratory occasions; an engagement and a wedding.
Belt
Catalogue No. 1943.001.04
Ho-Chunk
Tan fabric with red wool yarn and dark brown, light and dark blue, and red beadwork
The Ho-Chunk are an Indigenous group of people that have lived along the Mississippi River before the first settlers into Wisconsin had arrived and tried to drive them out. Despite the horrendous actions of the Indian Removal Act ordered by President Andrew Jackson, the Ho-Chunk had still found their way back to their homeland. We honor the people by recognizing the stolen ground we are on and by acknowledging how the origins of how this belt was made and its history are generally unknown. The care in how the beadwork was designed and the red yarn at the ends indicate, however, its importance to the Ho-Chunk. This accessory piece may have been worn with traditional Ho-Chunk clothing, which may have been worn during ceremony or worship.
Thank you for joining us through a walk through history!
Morgan Ellingson, Anna Kral, Carson Kreger, Ilariah McAnally