This iconic, regal figure got its name – Bangwa Queen – from one of its possessors, Harry Franklin, who obtained her in 1966. But to her true owners, the Lebang of the rolling Bangwa grasslands in southwestern Cameroon, she is Ngwi Ndem, the divine spouse who intercedes for those seeking fertility, bountiful harvests, and protection against evil.

Ngwi Ndem was sent to Europe by Gustav Conrau, a German trader and colonial agent. In 1898, Conrau was the first European to visit the Bangwa Mountains, where he sought trading contacts, as well as manual labour – slaves – for the deadly rubber and palm oil plantations of the then German-held Kamerun. Conrau was also mapping out the country, reporting potential banks of resources and hinterlands for future conquest by Berlin.

She is still in the Dapper Foundation’s possession. Since 2017, Chief Taku has been writing to the organisation, seeking the queen’s freedom from what he says is enslavement. The Dapper Foundation has continued to assert its right of ownership, he says. The foundation did not respond to a request for comment.