The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
King's bonnet (mpelet)
Contact
Favorite

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.

This content was machine-translated
Data Provider
Ethnologisches Museum
Show only fields containing data

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

Related objects

Bronze bell
The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
Knife with sheath
The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
Iron money (bride price)
The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
Drinking horn
The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
Masked robe
The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
Clay vessel
bu
Language: Unknown language
Language: Unknown language
Three African men in apell posture (overseer ?)
The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
Tobacco pipe bowl
tamton
Language: Unknown language
Language: Unknown language
Tobacco pipe bowl
tamton
Language: Unknown language
Language: Unknown language
Masked robe
The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
Hairpin
The name of this item is missing in its original language. If you know the name or have any comments, please use the form to get in touch with the institution that provided the data.
This content was machine-translated
2.1.1 / 7.1