Casgliadau Arlein

Head-dress worn by Mrs Uzo Iwobi at her OBE investiture at Buckingham Palace, 2008.

Length of gold fabric with woven floral design, made from synthetic/metallic yarns. Gold coloured synthetic yarns in warp and weft direction, as well as white synthetic yarns and narrow flat strips in gold in the weft direction to pick out the pattern.

The pattern repeat is largely square (H: 76.5cm x W: 78.5cm) and is framed by small five-pointed stars. Inside the square are three offset rows of large flowers. This pattern features twice on the length of fabric. Above and below each square pattern, there are two different woven inscriptions: GRAND RITZ (underneath a woven crown) and ORIGINIAL GENUINE HEADTIE SWITZERLAND FINISHED. They alternate and each appears three times. Where the inscriptions appear above the square pattern, they are upside-down.

Side edges are the full width of the woven fabric but are not selvages as such (i.e. the wefts don not travel back and forth and do not form a 'finished' edge. Instead, the edges are unfinished and are fraying slightly. Top and bottom edges are cut and left unfinished. They are not cut on the grain but on a slight angle.