The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 14, 2024
Bwami Prestige Cap (Mukuba or Nkumbu)
early to mid-1900s
Overall: 52.1 x 21.6 x 39.4 cm (20 1/2 x 8 1/2 x 15 1/2 in.)
Location: not on view
Did You Know?
While identified with Africa, cowrie shells were generally imported from the Indian Ocean region. After being collected near the Maldives islands, these Indo-Pacific shells entered parts of Africa via overseas trade routes.Description
Hats of different types, sizes, and materials figure prominently in the Lega people’s Bwami association where they indicate status and rank. Cone-shaped hats made of canvas covered with cowrie shells and surmounted by an elephant tail are worn during initiations into kindi, the highest of the five male grades. This prestige cap uses a variety of local and imported materials to show its wearer's importance. The plant fibers that support the hat and the elephant hair were sourced in Central Africa, while the beads and cowrie shells were imported. The beads were made in Europe, while the cowrie shells came from the Indian Ocean region. The might of Bwami members is likened to the elephant’s potentially destructive strength.- until 2005(Jacques Hautelet, La Jolla, CA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)2005–The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- Rondeau, James, Constantijn Petridis, Yaëlle Biro, Herbert M. Cole, Kassim Kone, Babatunde Lawal, Wilfried Van Damme, and Susan Mullin Vogel. The language of beauty in African art. 2022.
- The Language of Beauty in African Art. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (April 3-July 31, 2022) https://kimbellart.org/exhibition/language-beauty-african-art; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (November 20, 2022-February 27, 2023) https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9344/the-language-of-beauty-in-african-art.
- {{cite web|title=Bwami Prestige Cap (Mukuba or Nkumbu)|url=false|author=|year=early to mid-1900s|access-date=14 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2005.56