Mandarin Hat

China

Not on view

Officials' hat feathers could include one, two, or three peacock-feather eyes; this example has two. The emperor bestowed the feathers on officials for meritorious service, and the greater the number of eyes, the higher the honor. Near the end of the dynasty, however, such hat feathers were widely available in shops.

Mandarin Hat, Satin, velvet, glass, jade, China

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.