Dance crest

Description

wood, dark brown encrusted patina, paint remains, on wickerwork base, beard of clay-like mass with real hair attached, drilled holes for insertion of feather ornament on the head, slightly dam., one of the fangs replaced;
alike the neighbouring Ejagham and other Cross River people the Boki cultivated the tradition of headhunting. The earliest collected Boki headdresses often emphasize dominant button-shaped or tubular eyes, like the present one, with some stylistic affinity to sculptural works from the Mambila area.

Comparing literature