Crown of Hermonia

Shinto women wear a variety of different headdresses called sinsile. This piece, an example of the type worn by young girls every day until they are married, is remarkable for its opulence. It is a crown richly embellished with 377 turquoise beads and 33 table-cut carnelians. Thirteen pendants in teardrop form suspended from chains hang from the bottom section of the crown. The upper section is decorated with three half moons, a symbol of the rise and decline of Shinto life.