{
"data": {
"id": 159002,
"accession_number": "1995.211",
"share_license_status": "CC0",
"tombstone": "Man's Bwami Prestige Cap (sawamazembe), early to mid-1900s. Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lega-style maker. Plant fiber, seashells, seeds, pods, buttons, and probably cotton; overall: 35.8 x 26.7 x 19.2 cm (14 1/8 x 10 1/2 x 7 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1995.211",
"current_location": null,
"title": "Man's Bwami Prestige Cap (sawamazembe)",
"creation_date": "early to mid-1900s",
"creation_date_earliest": 1900,
"creation_date_latest": 1975,
"artists_tags": [],
"culture": [
"Africa, Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lega-style maker"
],
"technique": "Plant fiber, seashells, seeds, pods, buttons, and probably cotton",
"support_materials": [],
"department": "African Art",
"collection": "African Art",
"type": "Garment",
"measurements": "Overall: 35.8 x 26.7 x 19.2 cm (14 1/8 x 10 1/2 x 7 9/16 in.)",
"dimensions": {
"overall": {
"height": 0.358,
"height_inch": 14,
"height_inch_fraction": 0.125,
"width": 0.267,
"width_inch": 10,
"width_inch_fraction": 0.5,
"depth": 0.192,
"depth_inch": 7,
"depth_inch_fraction": 0.5625
}
},
"state_of_the_work": null,
"edition_of_the_work": null,
"copyright": null,
"inscriptions": [],
"exhibitions": {
"current": [
{
"id": 223257,
"title": "Standing on Ceremony: Traditional African Arms from the Donna and Robert Jackson Collection and the Cleveland Museum of Art",
"description": "Standing on Ceremony: Traditional African Arms from the Donna and Robert Jackson Collection and the Cleveland Museum of Art. Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 24, 2004-March 15, 2005).",
"opening_date": "2004-04-24T00:00:00"
},
{
"id": 412365,
"title": "The Language of Beauty in African Art",
"description": "The Language of Beauty in African Art. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (April 3-July 31, 2022) https://kimbellart.org/exhibition/language-beauty-african-art; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (November 20, 2022-February 27, 2023) https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9344/the-language-of-beauty-in-african-art.",
"opening_date": "2022-04-03T04:00:00"
}
],
"legacy": [
{
"description": "Western Reserve Historical Society (4/24/2004 - 11/27/2004): 'Standing on Ceremony: Traditional African Arms from the Donna and Robert Jackson Collection and the Cleveland Museum of Art\"",
"opening_date": "2004-04-24T00:00:00"
}
]
},
"provenance": [
{
"description": "Jacques Hautelet, La Jolla, CA",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": "until 1995",
"sortorder": 1
},
{
"description": "The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH by purchase",
"citations": [],
"footnotes": null,
"date": "1995 to present",
"sortorder": 2
}
],
"find_spot": null,
"related_works": [],
"former_accession_numbers": [],
"did_you_know": "This prestige cap combines local organic materials and imported machine-made materials like buttons.",
"early_education_description": null,
"artlens_description": null,
"description": "Among the Lega people of the eastern Democratric Republic of Congo, headgear was an important indicator of social position. Certain caps, headbands, and headdresses were the exclusive prerogative of the Bwami men's association. This headdress, called sawamazembe, was worn only by high-ranking members of this group. The hat's wig-like form represents a woman's coiffure, illustrating the blurring of gender distinctions among high-ranking Bwami members. The shell ornaments on the front suggest the moon, while buttons and a seed pod provide additional embellishment.",
"external_resources": {
"wikidata": [
"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q79977955"
],
"internet_archive": [
"https://archive.org/details/clevelandart-1995.211-man-s-bwami-prestige"
]
},
"citations": [
{
"citation": "Petridis, Constantine. \"Good and Beautiful.\" Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine 46, no. 7 (September 2006): 7-11.",
"page_number": "Mentioned and reproduced: p. 9",
"url": "https://archive.org/details/CMAMM2006-07/page/6/mode/2up"
},
{
"citation": "Rondeau, James, Constantijn Petridis, Yae\u0308lle Biro, Herbert M. Cole, Kassim Kone, Babatunde Lawal, Wilfried Van Damme, and Susan Mullin Vogel. The language of beauty in African art. 2022.",
"page_number": "",
"url": ""
}
],
"url": "https://clevelandart.org/art/1995.211",
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"creditline": "John L. Severance Fund",
"image_credit": null,
"sketchfab_id": null,
"sketchfab_url": null,
"gallery_donor_text": null,
"athena_id": 159002,
"creators": [],
"legal_status": "accessioned",
"accession_date": "1995-12-04T00:00:00",
"sortable_date": 1900,
"date_added_to_oa": null,
"date_text": "early to mid-1900s",
"collapse_artists": false,
"on_loan": false,
"recently_acquired": false,
"record_type": "object",
"conservation_statement": null,
"has_conservation_images": false,
"cover_accession_number": null,
"is_nazi_era_provenance": false,
"impression": null,
"alternate_titles": [
"Bwami Society Headdress",
"Hat (Sawamazembe)"
],
"is_highlight": false,
"updated_at": "2026-05-29 08:13:51.872000"
}
}