Turkana
Unmarried Girl’s Necklace
Turkana, 1933-1966
Scroll
Turkana
Unmarried Girl’s Necklace
Turkana, 1933-1966
Physical Qualities
Glass beads, hide, sinew, 12 13/16 x 10 1/4 x 7/8 in. (32.5 x 26 x 2.3 cm.)
Credit Line
Gift of Nancy and Robert H. Nooter, Washington, D.C.
Object Number
1994.278
The introduction of colored glass beads in the late 19th century sparked an artistic revolution across inland, east Africa. No longer hindered by the narrow color palette of local materials such as animal hide and smelted iron, artists from the region used imported Venetian and Czechoslovakian beads to create a wide array of jewelry. Over the course of the 20th century, as the use of beads
spread throughout the region and designs became more complex, it became possible to identify the ethnic group identity of individuals based solely on the colors and patterns found on his or her ornamental jewelry. Turkana, for instance, became known for their love of solid blocks of red, white, and blue beads while Maasai were immediately recognizable by the complex, linear designs created in red, orange, green, white, and blue. In this highly mobile landscape, decorative jewelry worn on the arms, necks, legs, and face also helped individuals and groups identify the age, marital status, and social position of those with whom they came into contact. For example, married Samburu women traditionally wore necklaces (mporo) featuring a vertical row of red, glass beads strung with hair from a giraffe’s tail.
Design for Mobile Living: Art from Eastern Africa
Adorned: African Women & the Art of Identity
Fedders, Andrew and Cynthia Salvadori. Turkana Pastoral Craftsmen. Nairobi, Kenya: Transafrica Book Distributors in association with East African Literature Bureau, 1977. Note: no page numbers, but see section “Their ornaments”; also feature images depicting similar necklaces + making of necklace
Fisher, Angela. Africa Adorned. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1984, p. 43.
Burt, Eugene C. East African Art in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1985, p. 20, no. 13.
Williams, Sarah. “An ‘archae-logy’ of Turkana beads.” In The Archaeology of Contextual Meanings, edited by Ian Hodder, pp. 31-38. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Robbins, Warren M. and Nancy Ingram Nooter. African Art in American Collections. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989, p. 524, no. 1385.
Stokes, Deborah. “Rediscovered Treasures: Africa Beadwork at the Field Museum, Chicago.” African Arts vol. 32, no. 3 (Autumn, 1999), pp. 28-29, fig. 15.
Labelle, Marie-Louise. “Beads of Life: Eastern and Southern African Adornments.” African Arts vol. 38, no. 1 (Spring, 2005): p. 17, fig. 6.
Visonà, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poynor, and Herbert M. Cole. A History of Art in Africa (Second Edition). Upper Saddle River (NJ): Pearson and Prentice Hall, 2008, p. 460.
Fisher, Angela. Africa Adorned. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1984, p. 43.
Burt, Eugene C. East African Art in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum. Seattle: Seattle Art Museum, 1985, p. 20, no. 13.
Williams, Sarah. “An ‘archae-logy’ of Turkana beads.” In The Archaeology of Contextual Meanings, edited by Ian Hodder, pp. 31-38. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987.
Robbins, Warren M. and Nancy Ingram Nooter. African Art in American Collections. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1989, p. 524, no. 1385.
Stokes, Deborah. “Rediscovered Treasures: Africa Beadwork at the Field Museum, Chicago.” African Arts vol. 32, no. 3 (Autumn, 1999), pp. 28-29, fig. 15.
Labelle, Marie-Louise. “Beads of Life: Eastern and Southern African Adornments.” African Arts vol. 38, no. 1 (Spring, 2005): p. 17, fig. 6.
Visonà, Monica Blackmun, Robin Poynor, and Herbert M. Cole. A History of Art in Africa (Second Edition). Upper Saddle River (NJ): Pearson and Prentice Hall, 2008, p. 460.
