Tightly woven from a single piece of wickerwork and coated with resin for waterproofing, this hood protected an infant from sun and rain while being carried on her or his mother’s back. With baby in place, the mother would tuck the flat base of the hood into the wrapper around her waist. The round finial forms a useful handle but is also decorative. Placed near both baby’s and mother’s heads, this diminutive decoration alludes to female beauty by echoing a hairstyle popular among Lugbara and neighboring Mangbetu women during the early 20th century. This coiffure can be seen on a Mangbetu figurative pottery vessel, also on view in this exhibition.