H x W x D: 20.8 x 19.2 x 33.6 cm (8 3/16 x 7 9/16 x 13 1/4 in.)
Type:
Textile and Fiber Arts
Geography:
Benin
Date:
Mid-20th century
Label Text:
This hat, worn by devotees of Legba (a Fon trickster and messenger deity), is covered with amulets. The extensive wrapping, binding and tying used in constructing the individual packets channels Legba's supernatural powers to harm, to heal and protect, or to influence the outcome of events.
Description:
Hat with leather covered and thread wrapped triangular amulets.
Provenance:
J. Dale Chastain, -- to 1973
Exhibition History:
TxtStyles: Fashioning Identity, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 11-December 7, 2008
Published References:
Blier, Suzanne Preston. 1995. African Vodun: Art, Psychology, and Power. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, p. 91, pl. 4, no. 44.
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