Bamileke Chief’s Hat

Kip McKesson African Art

A fine hat on woven wooden basketry frame with cloth and glass beads with a lizard motif. 

• Royal Symbol: The lizard is frequently used in royal artifacts, including beadwork on stools, masks, and thrones. It acts as a totem for the Fon (King) or high-ranking chiefs, representing their power and ability to transform.
• In Bamileke culture (Cameroon), spiders are revered as sacred intermediaries between the living and the ancestors, symbolizing wisdom, divine knowledge, and, through their burrowing nature, a link to the underworld.

$1,200.00

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