We are being offered these hats. They come with minimal provenance - they belonged to a great aunt who died in 2003 at the age of 94. She travelled the world from the mid 30s to the mid 60s and these were souvenirs she picked up. I do not know how to date or attribute an origin to them - anyone have any clues or links they can suggest? Any help will be appreciated. We may not keep them in the collection as ethnographic materials are not our mandate, however, we do have a small representative collection as many are good examples of materials, workmanship, historic trade and influence:
My favorite go-to place for questions such as yours is antiquers.com. THIS page, for instance, while not helping much with your question, is an example. One member, whose site name is Tapou, is an expert in ethnic things, such as African baskets, and might be able to help.
Okay, I'm no expert on these hats, but I do have an almost identical one to the 2nd one down. It belonged to my friend's parents who lived in Hong Kong in the late-1950s through the mid-1960s. They acquired a number of Chinese items and garments during their time there, which I sold for her when she was clearing her mom's estate. Beyond that clue, I would do a keyword search for "Vintage Rice Paddy Hat", as these were what farmers wore. @Jonathan - Edited to add images.
I'm pretty sure that last one is a Colonial African Safari hat, possibly Kenyan? Materials possibly something similar to a bamboo rattan. Also I think the second one is a Vietnamese fishing hat.
