Wedding Ensemble for a Bride (Umtshakazi)
Thembu
1950–1959
- Medium
- Cotton cloth, glass beads, mother of pearl beads, thread, and leather
- Dimensions
- H.: 114 cm (44 7/8 in.)
- Genre
- costume
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Styles
Tags
beadsassemblyassemblingthembubrass (alloy)beading (process)marriages/weddingsplant materialglassEastern and Southern Africainorganic materialwood (plant material)african Artarts of Africanonferrous metalweddingsclothsouth africancostumecopper alloyweavingmetal
About
For the Thembu and other Xhosa-speaking peoples, the beauty, translucence, and weight of layers of beaded ornaments have spiritual dimensions. Shiny, reflective materials are associated with enlightenment, purity, and access to the ancestral realm. Thembu beadworking flourished among young women in the 1940s and 1950s, but declined in the 1960s. Each of the items in this wedding ensemble was lovingly made. Many are notable for their creative reuse of materials: for example, the bracelet from which a handkerchief is suspended; the armlets made of twisted brass wire; and the beaded teaspoon necklaces, which were intended to make the marriage sweet.