ticketsMember | Make a donation

Horned Headdress

ca. 1700–50
Not on view
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.
Thought to have been given to the king of France sometime after 1750, this headdress’s design of a rawhide cap fitted with split bison horns, porcupine quills, and dyed deer hair identifies it as warrior ceremonial dress. A fitting object for the ruler’s cabinet of curiosities, it was perhaps collected and sent to France by the marquis de la Galissonnière, commandant general of New France, a naval officer and scientific enthusiast.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Horned Headdress
  • Date: ca. 1700–50
  • Culture: Eastern Plains or Western Great Lakes
  • Medium: Buffalo rawhide, native tanned leather, porcupine quills, bison or cow horn, glass beads, dyed deer hair and horsehair
  • Dimensions: 6 1/8 × 25 9/16 × 5 7/8 in., 7.125oz. (15.5 × 65 × 15 cm, 202g)
  • Classification: Accessory-Headwear-Menswear
  • Credit Line: Musée du Quai Branly, Paris (71.1878.32.156)
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts