Tobacco bags, c.1860-1980. The distinctive “red-hearted diamond” motif is associated with refugee communities that fled Zulu expansionism in the early 1800s. This motif survived until the 1940s among the amaQwati, people of Xesibe origin who settled among the Thembu. The beads on these bags were manufactured before the 1860s. Average height of bags: 9″ (23cms).
Xhosa ceremonial skirt umbhaco with wool braid, mother-of-pearl buttons, and beads, c.1960. 60″ x 50″ (152 x 127cm)
Tobacco bags, c.1860-1980. The distinctive “red-hearted diamond” motif is associated with refugee communities that fled Zulu expansionism in the early 1800s. This motif survived until the 1940s among the amaQwati, people of Xesibe origin who settled among the Thembu. The beads on these bags were manufactured before the 1860s. Average height of bags: 9″ (23cms).
Beaded crown umnqwazi for a chief’s wife, c. 1820-1840
Antelope leather, sinew, glass seed beads
In the early 1820s, when beads were expensive and difficult to obtain, headdresses such as this distinguished women of high status. They cost an amount equivalent to several cattle. The use of these crowns declined rapidly from the late 1830s onward. 24.5 x 10″ (62 x 25.5cms)
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