What is the girl in the painting wearing on her head?

The girl in the painting is wearing a turban on her head.

Johannes Vermeer’s c. 1665 work is often associated with this striking head covering, which helped give the painting earlier titles such as Girl with a Turban. The fabric is rendered in blue and yellow tones and wraps around the sitter’s head in a style that Europeans of the period associated with Eastern or Turkish fashion.

The painting is not a conventional portrait of an identified person. It is a tronie, a Dutch Golden Age study of a face, expression, or unusual costume. That means the clothing may have been chosen for visual effect rather than to record the sitter’s everyday dress. The girl’s identity remains unknown, despite speculation that she may have been connected to Vermeer’s household or patrons.

A common mix-up is confusing the turban with the blue-and-yellow scarf-like fabric draped around her shoulders. Both are part of the exotic costume, but the headwear itself is the turban.