Hat Item Number: 3509/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Wide brimmed, dome-shaped hat woven from palm leaves. Hat frame formed with an inner rod. Four groupings of red and blue tassels, tied together with braided cords, secured at intervals along the bottom edge. Star-shaped medallion with fringe on top centre of hat. Design consists of concentric circles and stars; done in red, yellow, dark blue, white and light green beads. Long feather attached to middle of medallion with red cord. Extending outward from the star, to the edges, are black, dark yellow and red beaded lines; dividing the hat into triangle-shaped sections. Matching line borders upper section of hat, before it slopes towards the brim. Band of red and dark yellow diamonds above border, connected to one another with black dots. Green painted decorations across interior of hat, matching beaded line pattern on surface. Hat band attached to interior, woven from rattan(?) strips and lined with patterned cloth. Red tassels on either side of band.
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.