Guinean Wood Head Dress

A man riding a bird, and both of them dressed in polka dots.

This head dress comes from Guinea in West Africa and dates to the 20th century. It is carved and painted wood. Dancers in West African masquerades wear headdresses like this on top of the head at festivals and village celebrations, and they are built to be seen from a distance. A small figure in a black cap sits on a boxy body with a pierced opening, holding a yellow baton. A long bird's head and a raised tail stretch out either side. Red, black and yellow dots cover almost everything. Twenty-three and a half inches high.

Subtlety was somebody else's department.