Hat Item Number: 3509/4 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Wide brimmed, circular hat woven from palm leaves. Hat frame formed with rattan(?) coils; bottom coil is naturally coloured, top is dyed dark red. Top of hat is covered in cloth. Edges are trimmed with sections of red, dark blue and light green, divided by groupings of multicoloured stripes. Large yellow circle in centre, bordered with a green beaded zigzag. Overtop is a red, four-pointed curvilinear motif. Motif outlined in alternating white and black beads, with beaded squares in the centre of each point. Squares have diagonal lines through them; beads are black, yellow, green and white. In centre of motif, on the tip of the hat, is a sun-shaped medallion with fringe. Medallion consists of concentric circles and suns; done in red, green, yellow, black and white beads. Hat band attached to interior, woven from rattan(?) strips and covered with yellow cloth. Band lined with paper.
Collected in Sarawak Malaysia by Grace Chatter, the mother of Ross Lea's wife, Jacqollyne. Grace (nee Soh) was born in Malaysia at the beginning of the last century, and was the daughter of a wealthy gold miner in Sarawak. She married a man from the British consulate, and brought the collection with her when she moved to Canada in her senior years.