The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 13, 2026

A deep purple silk garment hangs with wide, draped sleeves and a V-shaped neckline. Red, cream, and yellow embroidery borders the opening and center. Symmetrical yellow fabric bands form a wide V-shape across the torso. Circular glass mirrors are sewn throughout the embroidery along the neck, sleeves, and center. Cream fan-shaped designs decorate the sleeve openings and bottom hem. The central panel features a dense vertical arrangement of mirrors and threadwork.

Garment

c. 1890s

Africa, North Africa, Egypt, Aswan, unidentified makers

Silk, mirrored glass
Overall: 132.1 x 63.5 x 30.5 cm (52 x 25 x 12 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Wade 1916.1472
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Folds and old stitch lines on the sides of this garment indicate that it was taken in at one time, making it shorter and suggesting that more than one person wore it.

Description

Covered with symbolic decorations, this multitone silk garment beautified and protected its wearer. The khamsah (خمسة)—an open five-fingered hand—figures prominently as a cream-colored appliqué. The khamsah deflected or absorbed al-'ayn (العين‎)—the evil eye—as did the appliquéd mirrors, shielding the wearer from many varieties of harm. New research connects this garment to an entry in museum founder J. H. Wade’s 1881–1900 travel purchase notebook: “Kalifa’s gown emb[roidered] on purple silk.” A caliph (or khalifah) is a leader of a Caliphate (Islamic state) or an Islamic religious group. Whether this was indeed a caliph’s gown is a point of future research.
  • 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
  • Stories from Storage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 7-May 16, 2021).
  • {{cite web|title=Garment|url=false|author=|year=c. 1890s|access-date=13 May 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.1472