Rare Sindhi Muslim Silk Serai Topi Hat & Original Iron Hat Box

This is an excellent example of the peculiar topi or serai topi traditionally worn by senior members of society in the Sindh, Northern India (now in Pakistan). Shaped like a cylindrical drum with a broad, flat top, it is decorated with flower motifs and abstract, leafy swirls, in yellow, black and red silk brocade, over a stiff card. The interior is lined with red-dyed cotton fabric. Importantly, the hat retains its original, fitted iron hat box into which it fits snugly.

Among the wearers of such a hat was the Pir Pagara, the hereditary spiritual leader of the Muslim Sufi Order of Hurs in Sindh. Government officials and lawyers also wore the hat. The name ‘serai’ probably derives from the Kalhora dynasty which ruled much of Sindh in the 18th century. Their descendants sometimes use serai or sarai as part of their name.

See an example in the Victoria & Albert Museum and also illustrated in Crill (1985, p. 40).

Sindh was one of the first parts of the Indian subcontinent to fall under Islamic rule, and so occasionally is referred to as the Bab-ul Islam (‘the Gateway of Islam’). The region was influenced strongly by Sufism – a tradition mostly within the Sunni strand of Islam which rejects the dry legalism of Islamic fundamentalists and instead focussed on self-purification and spirituality.

The hat is in excellent condition. The iron fitted box has the expected light rust coating to the outside.

 

Above: A Sindhi spiritual leader wearing a serai topi, late 19th century.