This dramatic headcrest features lifelike facial features that the sculptor achieved by stretching damp antelope skin tightly over carved contours. Painting the eyebrows and adding pupils and teeth also adds to the illusion of naturalism.

Sharp-angled sickle-shaped knives with two or three holes and a hilt made of brass, wood, iron or ivory—like this one—were prestige objects made for Mangbetu kings and important men. They were held in the hand during visits, palavers, and ceremonials, as much for display as to be readily available, if needed. A blacksmith made the blade and a sculptor carved the hilt.

Life on the Loango Coast in the late 19th century is recorded on a spiral that winds around this tusk from the base to the tip. Rendered naturalistically, the figures include men in wrapper skirts, some with European-style jackets and hats; a caravan of porters carrying loads on their heads; a man carried in a hammock; African captives in chains; and a bald man at the top.