Headdress or similar garment formed of rectangular pieces of animal skin the remains of white hair, stitched together to form a rectangular length and more or less triangular end piece. The longer section is decorated on one side with strips of red fabric which run along the edges and also divide the main body into sections. There are five circular decorative elements in this section, two at each end and a larger one in the centre, of a ring of cowries surrounded by a border of red fabric. This long section ends in tufts of goat hair. The triangular end piece is decorated on the side adjacent to the decorated side of the longer piece with one round element similar to those in the long section. On the reverse, which might form the top of the headdress, there are three such circular decorative elements, between which a triangular element of black and red cloth, with a length of cloth to each side wrapped with fibre into a tube. The edges of the two longer sides of the triangular end piece are tuifted with goat's hair.
headdress (head ornament)
Continue exploring anthropology
Collection Information
These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.
The database retains language taken from historical documents to help research. Please note that some records may feature language and reflect systems of thinking that are outdated and offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.
If you have any further information about objects in our collections, can suggest corrections to our information or if you see content requiring immediate action, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk