Chinese tiger hat (TRC 2021.2029).February 1st 2022 marks the Chinese New Year under the Zodiac sign of the Tiger. On this occasion, we thought we would share with you our collection of Chinese tiger hats (虎头帽 - Hu Tou Mao), as they are both representative of this year’s lucky animal, the tiger, and are commonly worn for New Year festivities.

These Chinese tiger hats are traditionally worn by young children (especially boys) for important celebrations and festivals, such as birthdays or New Year festivities.They can also be worn along with tiger-shaped, embroidered shoes.

Popular in both northern and southern parts of the country. they are worn by several ethnic groups (Han, Miao, Dong among others).

Chinese tiger hat (TRC 2021.2036).In China, tigers traditionally embody bravery, strength and good fortune and most importantly they ward off evil spirits. They thus give protection to the children wearing these caps and hopefully pass on to them all their positive qualities.

Back of a Chinese tiger hat (TRC 2021.2029).While some more intricately designed and decorated than others, these hats also feature other traditional Chinese symbols and motifs. The TRC’s tiger hats feature for example a character reminiscent of 王 (Wang) for "king", or birds and flowers that echo imperial scholarly paintings (a classical style of painting, full of flora and fauna). Other motifs such as the phoenix and peaches are evocative of longevity and prosperity.

Tiger hats have been worn as early as the Qing dynasty (1644-1911/12) and are still commonly worn today, even though their manufacture is now usually machine-made rather than by hand. You can find a video on these hats on our TRC youtube channel.

We hope they bring you good fortune for this new year! Don’t forget to wear red on this day, as this colour is said to be auspicious.

Augusta de Gunzbourg, 31 January 2022