Vintage Chinese child’s hat Tiger - (2338)

Description

Vintage Chinese child’s hat Tiger - (2338)
Silk hat of a young child shaped as a tiger’s head with teeth and eyes blazing with the intention of warding off evil spirits. Ornaments of low grade silver were used to create a frightening image. An ‘official’s sphere’ surmounts the hat in the hope that the child might attain a high position in life. There are two small bells at the bottom of the wind flap. There are a number of similar hats in our collection and we believe that they all date from around the same time which is from the end of the Republic period (1912 – 1947) or from the early years of the PRC (People's Republic of China), so around 1950. The appliqué’s may be of older date as they were often handed down from mother to daughter. Height 29 cm including wind flap. Width 17 cm. Depth 25 cm.