Object name: Sweat wiper / Object type: ethnography / Donor: Shireenbai Kapadia - Hearst Museum Portal Search Results

Start Over Object name Sweat wiper Object type ethnography Donor Shireenbai Kapadia

Hearst Museum object titled Sweat wiper, accession number 9-12081, described as Sweat wiper; Parsi nupital; pentagonal folds of cream-coloured crepe silk sewn on three sides, suspended around neck by a narrow band of the same material; L. (including band) 55 cm., W. 29 cm. Made by women at home. Formerly worn around the neck (and tucked into the blouse) by some Parsi brides as part of a ritual in which the newly married woman wipes her husband's brow just after the ceremony in a gesture of wifely devotion. This was believed to ensure fidelity. This specimen was used by the donor herself in 1932. Collector's other informants believe this to be a rare and currently obsolete custom.