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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS 



[vol. 45 



methods of hair-dressing, and another style of hat with a streamer 

 hanging down the back over the hair-knot, somewhat after the 

 manner of the Tibetan woman. 



As might be expected from the complexity of headdress, Koreans 

 display the utmost skill in such manufactures. Nowhere in the 

 world can better horsehair work be found, some of the hats showing 

 as many as five different styles of hand-weaving so fine that only 

 with a powerful lens can the stitches be seen. 



Fig. 28. — Women's hats and mode of hair-dressing 



It is probable that the headband (fig. 3) is the oldest style of head- 

 dress in Korea, and that the more complicated forms have been 

 evolved during centuries of culture. Much of Korean custom is 

 a survival of the influence of the Ming dynasty in China, whose 

 culture was widespread in Korea. 



There is one specimen in the National Museum which shows the 

 Korean conception of a European hat. It has a high crown and 

 is exquisitely made of horsehair and bamboo strips lacquered. It 

 is an example of the revolutionary tendency of the reformers of 

 1895, and was one of the causes of the death and dispersion of those 

 who would reform Korea in a year. 



There are in all sixty-five different kinds of men's hats and about 

 twelve different styles for children. Women are almost hatless, for 

 they have only about half a dozen styles. 



