Golden Hat of Schifferstadt

Bronze Age, 1400 – 1300BCE
Golden Hat of Schifferstadt, Bronze Age
Golden Hat of Schifferstadt, zoomed in
29.6 cmGolden Hat of Schifferstadt scale comparison18 cm

Golden Hat of Schifferstadt is a Bronze Age Gold Decorative Artwork created between 1400BCE and 1300BCE. It lives at the Historical Museum of the Palatinate in Germany. The image is used according to Educational Fair Use, and tagged Hats & Headwear, Apparel, Phallic Symbols and The Golden Hats. See Golden Hat of Schifferstadt in the Kaleidoscope

Life in the Bronze Age was more fashionable than you think. This magnificent headwear is the oldest known golden hat, a very specific form of Prehistoric couture. Discovered in 1835 in a field near the town of Schifferstadt in Southwest Germany, the Golden Hat of Schifferstadt stands nearly a foot tall. and is made from a single sheet of hammered gold ringed by intricate tooling and dot patterns. Interior marks suggest it originally was lined by a cloth inner cap, and had a chinstrap to keep it in place. The hat’s purpose is unknown, though it was discovered buried upright on a slab of back-burnt clay, filled with a mixture of earth and ash, with three bronze axes leaning against the cone, suggesting ritual use. Bronze age sun cult perhaps?

Reed Enger, "Golden Hat of Schifferstadt," in Obelisk Art History, Published January 22, 2019; last modified October 27, 2022, http://www.arthistoryproject.com/timeline/prehistory/bronze-age/golden-hat-of-schifferstadt/.

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