Bamileke Ashetu or Ceremonial Hat, Based

Cowries were once currency, and a head wearing hundreds of them is making a point.

This ashetu, a ceremonial hat, was made by the Bamileke of Cameroon in the 20th century from cowrie shells and hemp. The Bamum and Bamileke, like many cultures, considered the human head an important site of appreciation, and cowries signaled wealth and standing. A close-fitting hemp cap is covered with cowries and topped by a tall spike ending in a fiber tuft. From the crown fall long strands of cowries mixed with tufts of brown fiber.

Forty-one inches on its stand. Creamy shells against dark fiber.

Tall order. Tall hat.