Friendship Handkerchief, T01.13.3
Happy Valentine's Day from TMC!
Our object of the week is full of love!
This week we’re featuring a Hutterite (a branch of the Anabaptists) “friendship handkerchief” from Western Canada, made by Magdalena Wipf for Peter Entz in 1916. This cotton handkerchief features cross-stitching; embroidered on the front of the handkerchief is “To the only one I love – forget me not – Magdalena Wipf – Peter Entz,” along with their initials and the date. Friendship (another term for sweetheart) handkerchiefs were a traditional token of courtship, and date back to the sixteenth century origins of Hutterite communities in German and Austrian territories. This token of serious affection was given to a Hutterite man during courtship, and if the couple married, became a warm reminder of their courting days.
