Crown Item Number: 3435/1 a-b from the MOA: University of British Columbia
Crown completely covered in white and black beads, with long strands hanging from bottom edge (part a). Crown is conical in shape with a circular pedestal on top. Bird figure sits on top centre of it and is detachable (part b). Body of crown decorated with wide black and white stripes, pedestal decorated with identical thinner stripes. Overtop stripes on main body, there are two rows of protruding bird figures. All birds are white, wings decorated with black stripes. On front and back of crown are black beaded faces, with oval-shaped eyes, long noses and circular open mouths. Features of faces are done in white and extend outward. Crown has a padded interior, covered with unbleached cotton.
Beaded crowns, joining their wearer’s inner head with the àsa, or force of previous rulers, were adopted as part of kingly regalia in the nineteenth century. The faces represent the king’s ancestors, while the birds connote powerful enabling feminine forces which are required by all rulers.