Artwork Page for Prestige Headdress (Ashetu or shüötu)

Details / Information for Prestige Headdress (Ashetu or shüötu)

Prestige Headdress (Ashetu or shüötu)

1900–1950

Bamum style, unknown maker, Grassfields region, Cameroon

Medium
cotton, dye (including indigo)
Measurements
Overall: 25.4 x 25.6 cm (10 x 10 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Alma Kroeger Fund 2024.70
Public Domain
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Location
108A African
Print
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Did You Know?

Titled men still wear such prestigious adornment today.

Description

The bristle-like surface of this man’s prestige headdress is dyed with indigo or a red pigment. Below, a diamond pattern evokes another royal symbol, the leopard. The projections are reinforced with small pieces of wood. Such extensions are seen on prestige headgear represented in wood in sculptures and in colored pencil on drawings in the collection.
A woven cotton headdress is formed by a rounded, conical tan base covered in dozens of long, tubular protrusions. A repeated diamond grid pattern of dark indigo threads marks the body, while each protrusion is banded with indigo and red near its end. A red triangular shape borders the bottom center, and the flat top features concentric circles of red and tan. The dense, dimensional surface creates a prickly silhouette.

Prestige Headdress (Ashetu or shüötu)

1900–1950

Bamum style, unknown maker, Grassfields region, Cameroon

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