Currently not on view
Prestige cap (misango mapende),
20th century, before 1975
Pende or Yaka artist
y1986-103
Pende and Yaka chiefs wore beaded bicorn hats with vividly colored geometric designs. Originally found among the Lunda chiefdom, and adopted by the Pende peoples, this distinctive headgear is now a symbol of prestige and power for Yaka chiefs.
More Context
<p>Just as styles cross the globe today, fashions migrated between different African regions in the early twentieth century. First worn by Lunda chiefs as a status symbol, these elaborately beaded caps were later adopted by Pende, Yaka, and Suku chiefs. While the caps themselves were purchased from Pende artists, the beads were trade goods from Bohemia (Czech Republic). Intercultural and portable, these works demonstrate the fluidities of style and identity.</p> <p>Kristen Windmuller-Luna, *16, Collections Research Specialist</p>
Information
Title
Prestige cap (misango mapende)
Dates
20th century, before 1975
Maker
Pende or Yaka artist
Medium
Raffia, cane, and glass beads
Dimensions
h. 14.5 cm, diam. 19.5 cm (5 11/16 x 7 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Perry E. H. Smith, Class of 1957
Object Number
y1986-103
Place Made
Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Materials
Techniques
Subject
purchased by Perry E.H. Smith, Zaire (present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo) between 1971 and circa 1975; Princeton University Art Museum, 1986
- "Acquisitions of the Art Museum 1986," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 46, no. 1 (1987): p. 18–52, p. 46
- "Selected checklist of objects in the collection of African art," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 58, no. 1/2 (1999): p. 77–83., p. 79
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 265 (illus.)
- Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collections (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Art Museum, 2013), p. 317
