17th century.
Silk, satin, silver thread; embroidery. 
Height: 27 cm; Circumference: 58 cm. 
National Museum of History of Ukraine.

The hat (Ukrainian шапка - shapka) of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi is a valuable item in the exposition of the state Museum of National History of Ukraine. Previously called the City Museum of Arts and Antiques, the museum has just celebrated its 100th anniversary. This respected cultural and educational institution of Kyiv acquired the hat of the famous hetman in the beginning of the 20th century. The inventory note dated 1911, from the first volume of «The Inventory of the Kiev Museum of Antiques and Arts» explains the circumstances of the item's acquisition: «The hat from the 17th century made from ash-gray silk is richly decorated with silver; the ornament is floral; the bottom is embellished with a silver-and-green silk fringe. The circumference is 58 cm. The height is about 28 cm. The hat was kept by the great-grandniece of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi, Olga Alexandrovna Petrovskaya, who lived in [community(?)]. According to legend, it belonged to Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. Given to the museum by Varvara Nikolovna Khanenko.» Khanenko bought the hat for 50 rubles. 

The tragic events of World War II (1939-1945) became the biggest challenge for the reservation of this unique item in the 20th century. 

From the inventory of April 13,1938, the hat has an important place on the «List of unique and most valuable items from the Department of Art and Industry of the Ukrainian State Museum.» A later note (most likely from 1943) deserves special attention: «The hat of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi was forgotten during the evacuation of the Bolsheviks. It was then taken to Ensati St. RZ Rozenberg with other artifacts from the Institute of the Ancient and Early History of Kiev. The remaining items were taken by the Bolsheviks to the city of Ufa.» 

The hat ended up among a sizable group of cultural valuables that were taken to Germany. In 1947, as a result of the restitution by the Soviet military administration from Germany, it turned up in Minsk with other valuables of the former Belorussian State Historical Museum, among which were items from the collections of other museums. Thanks to the old museum tag, the newly acquired item was inventoried as the hat of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi. 

During the days of celebrating the 300th anniversary of "uniting Ukraine and Russia", the hat of Bohdan Khmelnytskyi was given to the Kyiv state Museum of History as a gift to the Ukrainian people from the Belorussian SSR. Since the 1960s the artifact has been in the exposition of the Department of the Feudal Period.

Hat, Ukrainian Шапка (from the Latin "cappa"; French "chapel", "chape") - headwear, mostly without criss, soft and warm. In Eastern Europe it is usually made of fur. 
In Ukraine, from ancient times men wore hats made of sheep, hare, marten fur, woolen cloth, leather and other. In the period of the Cossacks, cap was one of the main parts of men's clothing not only in winter, but also in summer. Leather hat was called капелюх (kapelyukh). Made of sheep fur hat was called кучма (kuchma). Made of straw hat was called капелюх (kapelyukh) or бриль (bryl'). Another type of hats was magerka (Ukrainian магерка) - a hat in a form of helmet. There were semi-spherical, or coniform. Helmets were sewed of brown or gray felt.
In the 17th century all men, without exception, wore hats. They took them off only while greeting and in the church, only women should cover their heads in the church. It was normal to be in a hat even indoors. On the head, Ukrainian Cossacks wore a straw hat or short-haired fur hat or a holster - a wool red hat with a beaver fur decoration.  Very often Cossaks wore caracul fur (black or gray and dove-couloured) hats, which were decorated around by golden twist. Cossack's colonels had hats, which were covered with a sable fur with a velvet top, on the hat were golden brooches with precious stones. In the 17th century all men, without exception, wore hats. They took them off only while greeting and in the church, only women should cover their heads in the church. It was normal to be in a hat even indoors. 

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