Hat, Tall Sugarloaf, 15th C, Black fuzzy

A tall hat sometimes called a 'sugarloaf' popular in the mid late 15th C. throughout England and the rest of Europe. Examples may be seen in iluminations by Loyset Liedet, the works of Rogier van der Weyden, Petrus Christus and other artists and illuminators. This hat reached absurdly tall and skinny proportions among the most fashionable, as demonstrated by the illuminations in Froissart's 'Chronicles'.

This hat is made in a wonderfully thick wool with a fantastic fuzzy texture that is quite different than the smooth wool we usually use. In many 15th C. images the artist has gone to some pains to depict a rough texture in the fabric of the hat. As soon as we saw this fabric we immediately thought it looked like what the artist may have been depicting. Although we bought all we could, this is a limited quantity fabric that cannot be replaced when we run out.

This proportion is well represented in the works of Dirk Bouts:

• "Portrait of a man (Jan Van Winckele?)", 1462, London, National Gallery
• "Portrait of a man", about 1470, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
• Portrait of a Man, c. 1462 (Silverpoint on white paper, Smith College, Northampton, Mass.)

Assorted coloured wools lined in linen and hand finished. No visible exterior machine stitching.

Available in 3 sizes:

• Medium- 23"
• Large- 24"
• XLarge - 25"