Object Details
- Label Text
- This hat, worn by devotees of Legba (a Fon trickster and messenger deity), is covered with amulets. The extensive wrapping, binding and tying used in constructing the individual packets channels Legba's supernatural powers to harm, to heal and protect, or to influence the outcome of events.
- Description
- Hat with leather covered and thread wrapped triangular amulets.
- Provenance
- J. Dale Chastain, -- to 1973
- Exhibition History
- TxtStyles: Fashioning Identity, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 11-December 7, 2008
- Published References
- Blier, Suzanne Preston. 1995. African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, p. 91, pl. 4, no. 44.
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Fon artist
- Date
- Mid-20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of J. Dale Chastain
- Medium
- Leather, cloth, cowrie shells, tusk
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 20.8 x 19.2 x 33.6 cm (8 3/16 x 7 9/16 x 13 1/4 in.)
- Type
- Textile and Fiber Arts
