Zulu Beaded Apron

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Photo by John Bentham.
Zulu Beaded Apron
Photo by John Bentham.
Date20th century
MediumGlass beads, cotton, thread
DimensionsOverall (with straps folded as pictured): 11 × 23 in. (27.9 × 58.4 cm)
Credit LineGift, in memory of Dr. Mary “Polly” Nooter Roberts, Africanist, art historian, and museum professional
Object number2024.3.6
Not on view
DescriptionTraditional beaded Zulu apron, possibly an "isigege" or beaded girdle/pubic covering from the Nongoma Region of South Africa based on the pattern, colors, and size.

Additional Details

Provenance Purchased by Allen F. Roberts and Mary "Polly" Nooter Roberts in 2005 from the African Art Center, Durban, South Africa.
Photo by John Bentham.
Date: 20th century
Medium: Glass beads, metal washers, brass US millitary button, cotton, thread
Object number: 2024.3.7
Belt
Date: c. 1875
Medium: Leather with brass tacks, glass beads, sinew, and thread
Object number: 1984.539
Beaded blanket strip
Date: c. 1875
Medium: Tanned leather, sinew, and glass beads
Object number: 1984.532
Amulet with coin pendant
Date: c. 1875
Medium: Leather with glass beads, metal, and coin
Object number: 1984.538
Moccasins
Date: c. 1875
Medium: Leather with glass beads, porcupine quill, dyed horsehair-filled tin cone dangles, and cotton cloth
Object number: 1984.540a-b
Beaded pouch
Date: c. 1875
Medium: Leather with sinew and glass seed beads
Object number: 1984.534
Photograph by John Bentham.
Date: date unknown
Medium: Leather with beads
Object number: 1984.1.1a-b
Kincob fragment
Date: 19th century
Medium: Cotton with gold and silver thread
Object number: S2024.5.7
Fragment of a beaded loop
Date: unknown
Medium: Leather and glass beads
Object number: 1984.536
Imperial Robe
Unknown artist, Chinese
Date: c. 1821
Medium: Silk and gold thread
Object number: INV.431
Brocade fragment
Date: 18th century
Medium: Silk with metallic thread
Object number: S2024.5.26
Batik fragment
Unknown artist, Javanese
Date: 18th-19th century
Medium: Cotton
Object number: S2024.5.4