Licensing Resources
dog-earred cap (Fila-Abeti'aja)
early 1900s
Yoruba people
Ijebu people
2012.32
Not currently on view
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Artwork Details
18-1/8 x 12-5/8 in. (without tassels)
Accession NumberCaroline Marmon Fesler Fund
CopyrightPrivate Collection, Lomé, Togo, around 1975. Private Collection, New York in 1975; (Young Robertson Gallery, New York); purchased by the Indianapolis Museum of Art in 2012.
This elaborately decorated hat is a symbol of Yoruba kingship. The imported velvet fabric and European metallic fringes and braids suggest that the hat was used during ceremonial and official events. The shape of the hat, possibly based on European liturgical hat styles, is reflected in its Yoruba name, which means “the dog-eared one.”
This large hat is decorated with chameleons, snakes, and crocodiles. The Yoruba considered the chameleon to be a sacred creature that possessed magical powers. It was forbidden to kill chameleons except for medicinal or ritualistic purposes.
Exhibition Name
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