Hats and Hair Decorations of Chinese Ethnic Minorities

This headdress would be worn Ordos Mongol women once they were married. It consists of a head band on the top, with tassels accross the forehead, braids on both sides, earflaps and the framework on the back.

It is decorated with highly-prized coral, turquoise, and silver ornatments. It is customary for Mongol women in Ordos always wear a headdress when they go out in public.

The average weight of headdresses worn by the married women is 3 or 4 kilos. These headdresses are quite expensive, and the value of their ornaments indicates of the family's wealth and status.

This is a silver headdress for teenage Miao girls as part of a costume worn during important festivals. It is made by first casting, then beating, and finally carving thin sheets of silver, as well as weaving together strands of silver wire.

The semicircular front of the tiara consists of over 300 pheonix tree flowers (Paulownia tomentosa), decorated with silver fans and pheonixes.

There are engraved designs of flying dragons, pheonixes, fish, dragonflies, swans, and butterflies around the headband of the tiara.

There are tassels in front, and pheonix-tail-like ribbons in back. The entire design memorializes the Miao's ancestors while anticipating a future of happiness and prosperity.

This is a traditional Hani hat. The hat is decorated with silver baubles, coins, beads and tassels.

Girls begin to wear this type of hat after their coming-of-age ceremony, showing that she is an adult and available for marriage.

This embroidered cap is a "Doppa" is worn by Uygur women. It is made of aubergine velvet and lined with black flannel.

The four sides are embroidered with designs using strings of ivory beads. This cap was given as a gift to Chairman Mao by a group of Uygurs visiting Beijing from Xinjiang to celebrate National Day in 1956.

This is a traditional hat for Yi women. The hat, shaped like a rooster's comb, is made of blue cloth decorated with silver balls. Cockscomb-shaped hats like this one were popular in Yuanjiang, Honghe, Yuxi, Chuxiong County in Yunnan province.

The design symbolizes happiness for the Yi girls and that they will be protected by the spirit of the rooster. This comes from a legend that evil spirits are afraid of the crowing of a rooster. The silver balls represent the stars and the moon, symbolizing light and happiness.

This hat is shaped like a bowl. The inside is made of rattan, while the outside is fur, with buttons for decoration.

This is a silver hair ornament, which is made first by casting, then by hammering and finally engraving very thin sheets of silver.

It is mounted on a silver tiara to complete the outfit worn by Miao women during important festivals.

These are examples of traditional Yi jewlery. They are made of silver and would have been worn by a bride as a veil during her wedding.

These hairpins are made of cow bone, engraved with single or double human figures, whose heads are made to resemble the hats worn by officials in ancient times. This scuplted human figure is treated as an idol representing the forefather and tribal leader of the Li people.

Below the figure, there are engraved designs depicting animals, flowers, and geometric patterns. Hairpins like these were worn for festivals when women visit their relatives and friends, or participate in parties, and demonstrate respect and remembrance of their forefathers.

This is Tibetan head ornament called a "Pahchu," meaning "crown of beads". Variations of the pahchu are popular throughout Tibet. The frame is usually made of wool or cloth, and then decorated with pearls, agate, coral, or turquoise.

The most precious pahchu are the ones covered with pearls, followed by those covered with the coral. In the past, pahchu were used to signify social hierachies: only hereditary noble women could wear pearl pahchu, while ordinary noble women wore coral ones.

These silver head ornaments would have been worn by Buryat Mongol women once they married. The head ring is made of 3cm silver strips, lined with cloth, and decorated with ornamental engravings.

The hair pin is about 40 cm long, held together by silver braids decorated with coral inlays. The head ring would be worn first, then the hair pin would be afixed to both sides held in place by the woman's braids.

The handle of this comb is carved with the image of a woman,with snakes on both sides and decorated with geometrical paterns.

From the Qing dynasty to the Republican period, worships of the ancestors, fertility gods and totems were still popular among ethnic minorities of Taiwan. The woman with the the snakes on this comb is one such totemeic figure.

This silver comb of Li people is decorated with pieces of bone, on which floral designs are appliqued.