Bamun Copper Necklace

Composed of fifteen miniature heads welded onto a circular form, this intricate necklace is styled after the prestige collars worn by royalty of the Kingdom of Bamum, a pre-colonial state in Central Africa. Cast in copper alloy using the lost wax method, each miniature head is depicted with an ornate headdress, a motif seen also in Bamum masks laden with cowrie shells. Made for a tourist market, this prestige necklace is nonetheless a storied example of African metalworking.