Collection of Thirteen Traditional Dorze Hats, Ethiopia

This finely constructed and decorated grass fibre hat from the Kasaï region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was collected in the 1930's. This wide-brimmed hat was likely made...

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...

Dating to the late 19th century, this is a fine and rarer form of Ethiopian headrest with a double-tiered, cone-shaped base. Decorating the base ar...

This large, two-sectioned woven cane Wagogo storage basket from Tanzania has been beautifully decorated with depictions of animals around the central band. This is one of the nicest ...

This is a collection of 40 hats in various sizes and makes. These hats were acquired from a discontinued boutique in Brugges, Belgium. Most of these hats are therefor as new. Some...

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...

A stitched colorful fabric hat with applied silver tone roundels, plaques and pendants, bells and cowrie shells. The long back flap with a triangular Turkoman pendant with glass rou...

Conical leather and straw tribal Fulani hat, Mali West Africa Folk Art organic fiber hat with leather applications that comes from the Fulani people in West Africa. It is typically worn by the Wodaabe, a nomadic cattle-herder subgroup of the Fulani. The organic straw is covered in leather straps both at the brim and top and with decorative leather elements in the middle. At the very top of the hat there is a knob which is covered in leather. At the base of the hat there is a chinstrap. The hats were featured on dancers in the 2018 music video "All the Stars" by the artist Kendrick Lamar...