Myhara ceremonial headdress. Rikbaktsa people, Mato Grosso, Brazil, 20th century.

Myhara Rikbaktsa ceremonial headdress. Brazil, Mato Grosso, ca. 1920.
A stunning ceremonial headdress belonging to the Myhara Rikbaktsa indigenous people, native to the state of Mato Grosso in the Brazilian Amazon.
Constructed on a cylindrical structure woven from cotton, it features an elaborate feather arrangement consisting of long central tail feathers from the blue-and-yellow macaw (Ara ararauna), accompanied by yellow feathers from the green-winged macaw (Ara chloropterus), black-and-white barred feathers from the Great Curassow (Hocó), and a lower border made of red, yellow, and black feathers. The careful arrangement of the different colors and species gives the piece an extraordinary visual effect and a remarkable compositional balance.
This type of headdress was one of the most prestigious ceremonial attributes among the Rikbaktsa, used in rituals, dances, and community celebrations of special importance. The complexity of its craftsmanship demonstrates a high level of mastery of the traditional feather art techniques developed by the Amazonian peoples.
Collected in the 1950s in Brazil, in the state of Mato Grosso, in the region of the Juruena and Sangue rivers.
Provenance:
• Ray Gillis Collection, Belgium.
• T. Jorissen Collection, Belgium.
• Private Belgian collection.
Comparanda:
• American Museum of Natural History, New York (U.S.).
• Museum of African, Oceanic, and Native American Arts, Marseille (France).
• Royal Museums of Art and History, Brussels (Belgium).
It shows slight wear and minor losses typical of the organic nature of the materials and its ceremonial use. Overall, it is in good condition, with the vivid polychromy of the feathers and the excellent quality of its craftsmanship standing out.
Measurements: 59 x 20 x 20 cm.

Headdress consisting of a circular woven base covered with overlapping bands of black, red, and yellow feathers. Above this is a crown of yellow and mottled feathers, topped by long bluish feathers that rise vertically. The color arrangement and the striking height give the piece a monumental presence, designed to visually transform and magnify the figure of its wearer.

The piece is associated with the featherwork tradition of the Rikbaktsa, an indigenous people settled in the Juruena, Sangue, and Arinos river basins in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso. Headdresses known as myhara were worn by men during rituals and inter-community gatherings, forming part of a complex system of body ornamentation and collective identity.

The alternation of feathers of different sizes and colors reveals a deep understanding of the properties of each material. The hallmarks of the axial rigidity of the long blue feathers and the vibrant texture of the lower crown lend the work a distinct sculptural quality, enhanced by the movement produced during its ceremonial use. Precise identification of the different bird species would require direct examination.