Object Details
- Label Text
- Kuba male specialists fabricated prestige regalia decorated with beads and shells. Cowrie shells specifically selected for their size and color were attached to the raffia cloth foundation in rows or in geometric patterns through the use of intricate knotting techniques. Today as in the past, most regalia is worn for ceremonies that accompany the installation of chiefs and other titled officials, dances held for funeral and initiation rituals, and the visits of honored guests to the community. Such items of prestige continue to be traded throughout the Kuba region and beyond the kingdom's borders to neighboring chiefdoms.
- Description
- Rectangular piece of cloth covered with evenly spaced rows of cowrie shells surrounded by a border of blue and white beaded decoration. Two string ties are sewn to each end of the cloth.
- Provenance
- Pierre Loos, Brussels, Belgium, -- to 1999
- Exhibition History
- Beads in Africa: Trade, Tradition and Splendor, Peninsula Fine Arts Center, Newport News, VA, January 13-June 3, 2001
- The Artistry of African Currency, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., March 12-July 23, 2000
- 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 Please note that some records are incomplete (missing image or content descriptions) and others reflect out-of-date language or systems of thought regarding how to engage with and discuss cultural heritage and the specifics of individual artworks.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
- Kuba artist
- Date
- Mid-20th century
- Credit Line
- Gift of Pierre Loos, Brussels
- Medium
- Raffia, cowrie shells, glass beads
- Dimensions
- H x W x D: 46 x 8.8 x 2 cm (18 1/8 x 3 7/16 x 13/16 in.)
- Type
- Jewelry
