Chief's Hat  misango mayaka
Yaka or Suku People
DR Congo
20th century
Imported glass beads strung with cotton over a basketry frame
11 x 11 x 6 inches high  (28 x 28 x 15 cm)

Hats of this type are found in several museum collections, including the Fowler Museum, UCLA, and the Dallas Museum of Art. As noted in Crowning Achievements: African Arts of Dressing the Head   (Arnold et al, 1995) "Yaka chief's hats from Zaire are examples of the Yaka borrowing leadership regalia from their Pende neighbors, who previously borrowed if from the Lunda"