Zulu women wear broad hats, called "isicholo," to display their marital status. These headdresses, like all beaded ornaments, served as distinctive signs to decode their owner's status. This beret-shaped type of headdress is derived from a hairstyle worn in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During that time, Zulu women shaved their heads, leaving a tuft of hair that they covered with grease and ochre. As the hair grew, they shaped it into a false cone. This specimen is not old (collected in the 1990s) but is nonetheless authentic. It is well-crafted and highly decorative. Total height with stand 48 cm.