Raffia Hat

A conical hat, made from coiled natural fibre. It has a wide brim, decorated with dark woven stripes and four strips of leather leading from a leather button at the top point, down to the rim. The Fula hat was donated to the British Museum alongside a gown and stringed instrument, all collected by Thomas Whitfield. Thomas Whitfield was in Sierra Leone between 1828 and the late 1850s, and is more commonly associated with his collections of flora and fauna.