Crest Helmet
Artist: Ejagham people, Ekoi subgroup
Date: early 20th century
Dimensions:
19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm)
Medium: wood, antelope (duiker) skin, palm fiber, bamboo, metal studs, kaolin, and pigment
Place of Origin: Nigeria / Cameroon
Classification: Sculpture
Credit Line: Purchased with funds given by Dorothy Mackenzie Price
Object number: 2005.321
Label Text:Ejagham skin-covered headdresses are portraits of ancestors. Famous men were almost all heroic warriors, so they are shown with aggressively bared teeth. The dark face represents a man; the yellow-brown face a woman. The spiral horns exaggerate a women’s hairstyle. The dark marks at the temples represent tattoos cut into the skin: the circles on the female head stand for love; the rectangles on the male head signify high rank. Crest helmets are danced at serious occasions and at funerals by men, who are completely covered by a long gown from the top of the head to the ankles.
Not on view
In Collection(s)