Object Details
- Label Text
- This headdress exhibits an unusual combination of woven and carved elements. The woven fiber cap, decorated with red and black abrus seeds, is surmounted by an open-worked wood panel adorned with painted motifs and attached feathers.
- The headdress makes its appearance during rituals celebrated in December after a good harvest and also at the time of national holidays. Photographs of dances in which the Mboum perform show the headdress attached to a raffia wig, which has a long raffia beard covering the dancer's cheeks, ears and neck. Aside from these photographs, little has been published about such headdresses.
- The Mboum, who numbered only 20,000 in 1917, live in a remote area where northern Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Chad come together. They are divided into several settlements, some of which have developed into states, where government and religious powers reside in the belaka, or chief.
- Description
- Headdress with woven fiber cap composed of two reversed concave shapes, entirely decorated with red and black abrus seeds, and surmounted by a rectangular openwork wood panel rising out of the cap's upper section, that is adorned with red, black and white painted motifs and feathers attached at the top end.
- Provenance
- Jacques Hautelet, La Jolla, California, 1997
- Published References
- National Museum of African Art. 1999. Selected Works from the Collection of the National Museum of African Art. Washington, D.C.: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, p. 102, no. 69.
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Mboum artist
- Date
- Mid-20th century
- Credit Line
- Museum purchase
- Medium
- Wood, seeds, plant fiber, feathers, pigment
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 84.1 x 24.2 x 23.5 cm (33 1/8 x 9 1/2 x 9 1/4 in.)
- Type
- Mask
