Lot 134
**First Time At Auction**
East Asia, China, late Qing Dynasty, ca. late 19th to early 20th century CE. Four children's festival hats with animal faces made of colorful silk fabrics and a variety of trims (fur, embroidery, appliques, one with a metal bell) that are both decorative and symbolic. In rural China during the Qing Dynasty, children oftentimes did not live to see their first one hundred days of life. Evil spirits and deities were credited with taking their lives too early, and this was usually parried by wearing clothing with animal faces like these hats. According to the Bowers Museum curatorial team, "These functioned as masks to fool evil entities into thinking the child was an animal. Dogs, lions, tigers, and dragons were among the cutely rendered but terrifying disguises donned by children to scare off the dastardliest spirits." Size: tallest had on display (black face) measures 13.5" H (34.3 cm); 19" H (48.3 cm) on included custom stand.
See entry in the Bowers Museum blog to read more about similar hats in their collection - https://www.bowers.org/index.php/collection/collection-blog/bats-cats-and-qing-hats
Provenance: private Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA collection
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#139350
- Condition: Some fading to fabrics, but hues are still relatively vivid. Some losses to stitching and trims, but much has survived and the hats are relatively well-preserved.
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| $0 | $299 | $25 |
| $300 | $999 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $1,999 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $4,999 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $9,999 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $19,999 | $1,000 |
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| $50,000 | $99,999 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $199,999 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 + | $20,000 |