Thai Akha Hill Tribe Elaborate Beaded Hat With Silvered Metal Decorations. Conical in shape, with bright color fabric and three primary metal pieces prominently displayed on both front and back surrounded by smaller circles and strung white beads. 

Size: 14 1/2 x 8 x 5 1/2 in. 

The Akha are one of many hill tribes in Southeast Asia, distinguished by their unique Tibeto-Burman language, elaborate headdresses, and traditional animist beliefs and practices. The ethnic group likely originated in the Tengchong plains before the invasion of the Ming Dynasty in 1644, and fled from China into Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam in the early 20th Century due to ongoing regional conflicts, with a small enclave still existing in Yunnan Province. Akha women define their age or marital status with the style of headdress worn, with each style becoming more spectacular as they transition from childhood to adulthood in stages. Headdresses are decorated by their owner, making each one unique, and are most commonly covered with pieces of metal, silver coins, monkey fur, pearls, and dyed chicken feathers. These pieces are highly prized both by collectors and as family heirlooms, often telling the story of the diaspora via the various objects accumulated to adorn them through the decades and even centuries.

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