Together, these three prestige caps display the creative re-working of raffia fibre. The two small, conical laket caps with scallop-shaped edges derive from the Kuba culture. Made by a male specialist hat maker, such hats would have been worn on the crown of the head of a Kuba man - designating his adult status. These two laket caps show the versatility of the coiling technique - while the slightly larger of the two incorporates accents of surface embroidery in a contrasting colour to highlight the 'ears' and bursts of raffia-fibre pom-poms to emphasise the body of the hat, the smaller cap features patterns of spaced stitching, which creates a masterful interplay of negative and positive space. The largest of the group of prestige hats derives from the Bakongo culture, also from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This hat exhibits a simple, sculptural quality, in which the circular form of the hat is crowned with a large tuft of raffia fibre.
Sold as a collection of three, not separately.
Estimated Period: 1930's
Ex Emmanuel Ameloot, Belgium
Height of Largest Cap (Incl. Stand): 29cm
Height of Laket Cap with Pom-Poms (Incl. Stand): 24cm
Height of Laket Cap with Spaced Stitch Detail (Incl. Stand): 24cm
(Click on images to enlarge)
