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Pendant
Kuba (Kasai region, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Central Africa)
19th century
- Medium
- Jute, raffia, cowrie shells, and beads
- Classification
- Costume and Accessories
- Dimensions
- 53.4 × 14 × 2.6 cm (21 × 5 1/2 × 1 in.)
- Culture
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Arts of Africa
- Credit line
- Gift of Richard Faletti, the Faletti Family Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
Since the inception of the Kuba Kingdom in the 16th century, individuals have signaled court rank and status with their elaborate dress. Glass beads imported from Europe and cowrie shells from the Indian Ocean have been used in the production of such accoutrements since the 18th century. Exclusively owned by men, bead- and shell-covered belts and pendants like this pre-1910 examples are still worn in combination with voluminous textile skirt-wrappers by both Kuba royalty and Kuba masqueraders. [See also 1997.461]
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
