Kayapó Ceremonial Headdress With Photograph By Jean-pierre Dutilleux

Kayapó people (Mebêngôkre), Xingu region, Brazilian Amazon

XXᵉ century

Set comprising:

- a ceremonial frontal ornament made of plant fibers and red feathers,

- a signed and numbered photographic print by Jean-Pierre Dutilleux depicting a Kayapó individual wearing a comparable ornament.

DESCRIPTION

Important ceremonial frontal adornment consisting of an arched headband of finely braided plant fibers, entirely bordered by a dense fringe of red feathers.

The structure, made of tightly woven basketry with light fibers, features a flexible and stable construction intended for ceremonial frontal wear. The whole is completed by a twisted fiber fastening system allowing it to be adjusted around the head.

The feather ornamentation forms a peripheral crown of intense red, enhanced at the top by a discreet bouquet of contrasting black and light feathers.

By its size, the quality of its construction and the density of its decoration, this example belongs to the ceremonial ornaments intended for the great collective apparitions and ritual performances of Xingu societies.

PHOTOGRAPHIC DOCUMENTATION

The set is accompanied by a signed and numbered photographic print by Jean-Pierre Dutilleux depicting a Kayapó individual wearing a frontal ornament directly comparable in structure and use.

This photographic document, from Jean-Pierre Dutilleux's fieldwork in the Brazilian Amazon, lends the set a particularly strong documentary and ethnographic dimension.

The print presented corresponds to an exhibition photograph associated with the world of "Le Monde Premier".

ETHNOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS

Feather ornaments play a central role in the ceremonial construction of the body and the expression of collective identity among the Kayapó (Mebêngôkre).

Front ornaments help to visually amplify the face and gaze during ritual gatherings, dances and community ceremonies. The predominance of red, a color highly valued in Amazonian societies, refers to notions of vitality, prestige and symbolic power.

Associated with the photographic field document, this adornment rediscovers here its function of living representation and its context of ceremonial use.

PROVENANCE

Collection Jean-Pierre Dutilleux

Field collection, Brazilian Amazon

EXHIBITION

Le Monde Premier

Belgium, 2018

DIMENSIONS

Adornment:

Length: 37 cm

Photography:

Print signed and numbered

STATUS

Overall good condition.

Wear and slight alterations to feathers consistent with age and ceremonial use.

Stable, intact fiber structure.

DOCUMENTATION

COMPLEMENTARY

A comparable frontal ornament is reproduced on the cover of the book:

Raoni, Memoirs of an Indian Chief

Published by Jean-Pierre Dutilleux with a preface by Jacques Chirac.