The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Rectangular strip of a headdress of white linen with a fringe and outlines in fine gold thread. Gold and silver thread foliage wind out from the center, sprouting pastel colored flowers and detailing. On either side the floral patterns frame two rectangular spaces of plain linen. Further towards the edges on either side, a vertically running band of gold geometric patterns interrupts the floral patterns.

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.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1916.1221
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Slender gray lines made in pencil or chalk trace out unstitched designs on this elaborate ritual cap.

Description

Beniqa were stylish headdresses that women wore when visiting the hammam (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.
  • 1916
    Jeptha Homer Wade II [1857-1926] and Ellen Garretson Wade [1859-1917], Cleveland, OH, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1916-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Windmuller-Luna, Kristen. "Textile stories from North Africa." HALI 224 (Summer 2025): 54-61. Mentioned: p. 57, 60; Reproduced: p. 55, fig. 3
  • Arts of the Maghreb: North African Textiles and Jewelry. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 3, 2024-October 12, 2025).
    Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
  • {{cite web|title=Headdress (beniqa)|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1221