Child's tiger hat, possibly for a boy, with the face of a tiger quilted on to white fabric. An orange appliqué nose is embroidered with black bubble thread, the eyes are in black and white surrounded by gold thread and the pink appliqué mouth has nine white teeth. The whiskers are done in white thread. Fur is suggested by means of fine white threads at the top and sides of the hat. There is a rim of brown and black fabric at the top and bottom of the tiger face design, and on the top black section is a green and blue scalloped rim with gold thread patterning. This top section extends backwards across the top of the head, embroidered with a butterfly design, with 22 strands of glass beads hanging over lilac cloth. The sides of the cap are in blue, and a blue tie fastens to a red fabric loop to secure the hat under the chin.
Garrett (1997) refers to children's hats of this type as dog head hats. This hat in fact emulates a white tiger. This type of hat was worn by young children to ward off evil spirits. See Garrett, V.M. (1997), 'A Collector's Guide to Chinese Dress Accessories' p.55-59. The tiger is known as the king of beasts in China. Legend has it that its colour changes to white when it reaches five hundred years old. See Williams, C.A.S., (2006), 'Chinese Symbolism and Art Motifs', p.378
