Scarfs and Head Kerchiefs

The exhibition will present some of the scarves from the rich textile collection of the Ethnographic Department of the National Museum.

A scarf is a practical and festive item of daily use, a fashionable clothing accessory and a device used as a head or neck covering or as an ornament. It can also be a clothing item. The various ways of tying scarves around the head have a rich history. There are religious and practical reasons behind them. Historically, it is not exclusively a feminine element, but also a masculine one. The scarf can be used for many other purposes - medical (to fix limbs in case of fractures and bruises), promise scarves (scout scarves), etc.

Visitors can enjoy a variety of scarves and shawls of urban and folk provenance, some of which, with their exceptional technique and design, are rightly among the European and global uniquenesses. These include beautiful embroidered scarves from the 18th century - for example, a baptismal scarf with the date 1784, which was acquired by Mrs. Josefa Náprstková. Thanks to the textile restorers of the National Museum, these scarves have been restored to their original beauty.

The exhibition will include, for example, a unique hand-patterned scarf of Mrs. Marie Husarová from Křemže near Český Krumlov from 1955, as well as smaller models of tied scarves from Moravia, which were part of the Czechoslovak Ethnographic Exhibition in 1895 in Prague.

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