Sweat wiper

Museum number:
9-12081
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21090012081
Alternate number:
216 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.2963 and Acc.2964
Description:
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.
Donor:
Gool H. Wadia and Shireenbai Kapadia
Collection place:
Mumbai (Bombay), Maharashtra State, India
Culture or time period:
Parsi
Collector:
Niloufer Hirschmann Ichaporia
Object type:
ethnography
Function:
5.3 Objects relating to the Secular and Quasi-religious Rites, Pageants, and Drama
Accession date:
1972
Department:
Asia (except western Russia)
Images:
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.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with 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.

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