Kuba Beaded Laket Prestige Cap

Carved to honor the mythical being Ci Wara, a Bambara deity that’s half mortal and half animal, this wooden headdress combines the graceful head and horns of a...

Hand carved with a figurative design, this TOTEM-like wooden post was crafted by an artisan of the Yoruba peoples of Nigeria. Resembling the tall houseposts used to support the roof of a home, this shorter post would have been placed on a veranda courtyard as a symbolic and decorative element and did not bear weight. This veranda post...

A rare imported commodity, glass beads have been a symbol of wealth and importance in south African cultures for centuries, and were exclusively distributed by the region's oba (king). As beads become gradually more accessible throughout the 19th century, they began to displace the organic materials used in traditional art and attire. This colorful example of African beadwork is a ceremonial doll...

Commonly known as Bogolan or Bògòlanfini, this cotton textile was hand spun, handwoven, then dyed through a technique that has been passed down in the Bamana region of Mali for centu...

Adorned with spiked braids, this prestigious custom mounted Ashetu hat embodies the cultural significance of the Bamum and Bamileke people of Cameroon, Central Africa, who revered th...

Traditionally worn as a symbol of rank and title, this beautiful Kuba chieftain's cap (laket mishiing) is embellished with cowrie shells and rows of blue, white and black glass beads. The body of the hat has been fashioned from raffia fibre using the woven basketry technique, and displays the typical form of the Kuba 'laket' cap, with four scallop-shaped 'ears'. When worn, one of the 'ears' would have been squarely positioned at the front of the wearer's forehead. Given to Kuba men upon completion of an initiation rite, small dome-shaped raffia hats signalled their transformation into mature members of Kuba society. As a Kuba man moved up the social ladder, his headgear would change, with male titleholders commissioning local artisans to produce splendidly decorated prestige hats to signal his rank. The accumulation of materials on a Kuba man’s hat...

In Kuba society, title holding is dominated by men; there are only two titles held by women. Headdresses were and are the most visible expression of o...

A Ulo Akha woman's Tribal headdress adorned with framework of bamboo, beads, pompons, seeds and other unique items. Experience a rich slice of the A...