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King's bonnet (mpelet)
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In 1908, King Njoya of Bamum (reign ca. 1887 - 1933) presented this bonnet to Theodor Seitz (*1863 - †1949), the then German governor of Cameroon, as a birthday present for Emperor Wilhem II. Such bonnets, called mpelet in the Bamum language, were only made for kings and other high dignitaries. Only a few are as magnificent as this example, which is richly decorated with precious, coloured glass beads and depicts chameleons, which are considered royal animals.

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Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
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Cataloguing data

Cultural attribution
Bamun (Bamum, Mamum, Bamoun, Mamoun, Mamoum)
Object type
King's bonnet (mpelet)
Dimensions
Höhe: 46 cm (inkl. herabhängenden Bändern)
Objektmaß: 36 x 31 x 12 cm
Material/Technique
Raphia (palm tree), Cotton, Glass bead, Snail shell (cowrie, Cypraea moneta) (a)
Current location
Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin
Inventory number
III C 33343
Related object(s)
Activity : Vorgang: E 1114/1908, Staatssekretär des Reichs-Kolonialamt [A.IV.713/33834, vom 20.5.1908] ersucht um Abholung eines Thrones und anderer ethn. Gegenst. d. Häuptl. Joja - 4seitiger Bericht gez. v. Luschan vom 10.6.1908 nebst Photografien betr. Thron., 1908 (20.5./10.6.1908), Reichs-Kolonialamt (17.5.1907 - 20.2.1919)
Vorgang: E 1114/1908, Staatssekretär des Reichs-Kolonialamt [A.IV.713/33834, vom 20.5.1908] ersucht um Abholung eines Thrones und anderer ethn. Gegenst. d. Häuptl. Joja - 4seitiger Bericht gez. v. Luschan vom 10.6.1908 nebst Photografien betr. Thron., 1908 (20.5./10.6.1908), Reichs-Kolonialamt (17.5.1907 - 20.2.1919)
Activity : Vorgang: E 58/1905, Erwerbung: I/11/1905: III C 19141, Stuhl (Bamum), Eigentum Sr, Majestät d. Kaisers -- Inhalt/Enthält: Ober Hofmarschall-Amt mit Benachrichtigung, daß der Stuhl König Joias von Bamum vom Kaiser an das MV übersendet wird, aber nach wie vor Eigentum des Kaisers bleibt. Bitte um Empfangsbestätigung. Briefe: 1, 1905 (01.10.1905), Jesko von Puttkamer (2.7.1855 - 24.1.1917)
Vorgang: E 58/1905, Erwerbung: I/11/1905: III C 19141, Stuhl (Bamum), Eigentum Sr, Majestät d. Kaisers -- Inhalt/Enthält: Ober Hofmarschall-Amt mit Benachrichtigung, daß der Stuhl König Joias von Bamum vom Kaiser an das MV übersendet wird, aber nach wie vor Eigentum des Kaisers bleibt. Bitte um Empfangsbestätigung. Briefe: 1, 1905 (01.10.1905), Jesko von Puttkamer (2.7.1855 - 24.1.1917)

Provenance and sources

when
19th century
where
Cameroon [Land/Region]
who
Bamun (Bamum, Mamum, Bamoun, Mamoun, Mamoum)

who
Wilhelm II., Deutsches Reich, Kaiser - Former Possessors

Description
Donated by Wilhelm II in 1927

Information about the record

Legal status metadata
CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED

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