Object Details
- Label Text
- The bride at a Somali wedding receives an elaborately beaded lidded basket. It is intended to hold smaill personal objects such as jewelry but at the wedding it holds treats. The groom competes with the male guests to open the basket, although since the basket symbolizes the bride, he always must win.
- Description
- Lidded cylindrical pedestal basket covered in panels of geometric patterns of red, black and white glass beads. Cowrie shells hang below body of basket. Remains of cloth and beadwork straps. Colored plant fiber chevron patterns visible in the interior.
- Provenance
- Dr. Arthur Dintenfass, Ventnor, NJ, 1987
- The Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communication, 1987 - 2014
- Content Statement
- As part of our commitment to accessibility and transparency, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art is placing its collection records online. Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks. If you see content requiring immediate action, we will do our best to address it in a timely manner. Please email nmafacuratorial@si.edu if you have any questions.
- Image Requests
- High resolution digital images are not available for some objects. For publication quality photography and permissions, please contact the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives at https://africa.si.edu/research/eliot-elisofon-photographic-archives/
- Data Source
- National Museum of African Art
- Maker
- Somali (Hawiye or Digil clan) artist
- Date
- Early to mid-20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of The Robbins Center for Cross Cultural Communication in memory of Warren M. Robbins
- Medium
- Plant fiber, glass beads, cowrie shells
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 30.5 × 27.9 × 24.1 cm (12 × 11 × 9 1/2 in.)
- Type
- Textile and Fiber Arts
