The Global Language of Headwear: Cultural Identity, Rites of Passage, and Spirituality

This exhibition features 89 hats and headdresses carefully selected from a private collection of more than 1,300 extraordinary pieces of international headwear. The hats and headdresses are from countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North and South America. With a few exceptions, the pieces are from the mid-to-late 20th century, and many are still worn today in parts of the world for revelry, ritual, and the rhythms of everyday life. More than utilitarian objects of material culture, each hat is a unique work of art—not merely because of the skill required to make it, but also as a singular expression of creativity and cultural meaning. 

The profusion of shapes, styles, and materials, as well as the ingenious use of embellishments to decorate the hats, are limited only by imagination. Hats and headdresses communicate timeless ideas—not only of beauty, but also of what it means to be human.

The Global Language of Headwear is organized into five thematic sections:

• Cultural Identity
• Power, Prestige, and Status
• Ceremonies and Celebrations
• Spiritual Beliefs
• Protection

Each section draws compelling parallels across a global spectrum of regions and ethnicities represented in the exhibition. The beliefs and rituals of these many cultures, and the ceremonial objects that accompany them, ultimately unite an international community. The Global Language of Headwear colorfully demonstrates that each distinct society can be viewed through a similar lens of rites of passage, heritage, and identity.