Prestige cap

early 20th century

Not on view

This powerful headdress incorporates extensive additions of elephant hair along its edges and crown. The elephant is among the most commanding and formidable animals in the wilderness and signifies the utmost authority. Displaying elephant hair in clothing and bodily adornment symbolizes that the wearer wields the might of that powerful animal. As such, they were historically reserved for royal use among the Bamenda and their neighbors in the Cameroon grassfields. Referred to as ntcho (elephant) for their distinctive medium, such prestige caps were the exclusive prerogative of the fon (ruler).

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Title: Prestige cap
Artist: Bamenda artist
Date: early 20th century
Geography: Cameroon
Culture: Bamenda peoples
Medium: Elephant tail hair, glass beads, plant fiber
Dimensions: H. 4 ½ in.; W. 8 in.; D. 9 ½ in.; Circ. 22 in. (11.4 × 20.3 × 24.1 × 55.9 cm)
Classification: Textiles-Costumes-Accessories
Credit Line: Gift of Marie-Louise Laband, 2025
Object Number: 2025.831.18
Curatorial Department: The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing

More Artwork

By Bamenda artist

In the same medium

From the same time and place

Pipe Bowl, Bamenda artist, Terracotta, Bamenda peoples — Pipe Bowl
Bamenda artist
early–mid-20th century

Ceremonial Palm Wine Vessel, Grassfields artists, Gourd, glass beads, cloth, cane, wood, Grassfields region — Ceremonial Palm Wine Vessel
Grassfields artists
late 19th–early 20th century

Bwami society headdress (?), Lega artist (?), Glass beads, raffia fiber cordage, Lega peoples (?) — Bwami society headdress (?)
Lega artist
19th–early 20th century

Ashetu prestige cap, Grassfields artist, Cotton, other material (?) — Ashetu prestige cap
Grassfields artist
early 20th century

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