Wodehouse Falcon Hood

Wodehouse falcon hood, French ?, 17th - 18th centuries. Wodehouse falcon hood, French ?, 17th - 18th centuries. Courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, acc. no. 38.1300. Gift of Philip Lehman in memory of his wife Carrie L. Lehman.

The so-called Wodehouse falcon hood is a leather cap embroidered with silk and metallic threads, now housed in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. It is believed to be French in origin and dates to the seventeenth or possibly eighteenth century.

Leather falcon hoods are used to cover the heads of falcons when they are being trained to hunt (see falconry) together with humans and to remain focussed during a hunt. They are worn to help the bird acclimatise to human beings and to keep the bird in a calm state. The hoods came in a variety of sizes and shapes and traditionally were often embellished with decorative needlework. This particular hood originally belonged to the Wodehouse family (the Earls of Kimberley). It was given by Philip Lehman to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 1938.

See also the Wodehouse jacket.

Boston Museum of Fine Arts online catalogue (retrieved 11 March 2016).

GVE 

Last modified on Sunday, 26 March 2017 11:30
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