Object Details
- Label Text
- In the 19th and 20th centuries among the Amhara, the highest ranking clerics, military officers and court chiefs wore capes and hats of imported cloth decorated with embroidery and other embellishments. The shape of this cape echoes the earlier lion skin capes reserved for the most honored. The lion fur on the collar and hat is reserved for the bravest of warriors, those who have slain a lion.
- Description
- Man's short velvet shoulder cape with five panels, decorated with gold thread embroidery, imported metal and crystal clasps and lion fur around the neck.
- Provenance
- Edward and Catherine Sweeney, collected Ethiopia, 1956 to 1976
- Exhibition History
- TxtStyles: Fashioning Identity, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., June 11-December 7, 2008
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Amhara artist
- Date
- Early-mid 20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of the Explorer's Club
- Medium
- Fur, cloth, metal, glass
- Dimensions
- H x W: 102.2 x 55.2 cm (40 1/4 x 21 3/4 in.)
- Type
- Textile and Fiber Arts
