A carved wooden flat dance-crest of a stylized avian profile, with large beaked bird, incised linear designs and a well handled surface. The remains of a basketry cap are evident. Budja , DRC/ Congo, Africa. The headdress measures 17 x 7.25 inches. This crest was worn on the head’s of masked dancers and symbolises an important, mythical animal for the Budja people, a type of bird. The outer, stylised, plank-like wooden part is attached onto a cap with braided rattan strips. The Budja people danced with crests such as these during ritual fertility ceremonies and to bring local hunters luck. Until the 1980s these Budja dance crests were completely unknown to collectors. Once, on an official state visit of King Baudouin of Belgium to the Congo, a group of Budja danced with these crests for the king and they were brought to the attention of western collectors for the first time. Provenance: Estate of Dr. Maurice Solomon, New York, also A private NYC collection. .

Fair, the basketry hat is in fragile and fairly worn condition, the panel is in good condition overall.