Silk Bonnet 1935 - 1942

Peter Connin painted this watercolor of a "Silk Bonnet" sometime between 1855 and 1995. While the object itself might seem unremarkable, it speaks volumes about gender, class, and the social expectations of women in Western societies during the long 19th century. Bonnet styles, like any fashion, shifted over time, but their function remained rooted in social convention. Etiquette manuals and popular magazines of the era stressed the importance of appropriate dress for women, emphasizing modesty and decorum. Bonnets, in particular, served as a marker of respectability, signaling a woman's adherence to social norms, as well as protecting women's complex hairstyles. To understand this piece fully, a social historian would delve into fashion plates, conduct book illustrations, and women's magazines of the time. These can reveal more of the bonnet’s original cultural context and social significance. By examining the role of such objects in shaping identity and social structures, we gain insight into the complex interplay between art, culture, and power.