Head Ornament
Tekna
1960–1999
- Medium
- Nylon and polypropylene hair, amber, coral, shell, silver, carnelian, and glass beads
- Dimensions
- 62.3 × 26.7 × 19.1 cm (24 1/2 × 10 1/2 × 7 1/2 in.)
- Genre
- headdress - misc
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago
Tags
teknashell (animal material)nylonsilverjewelryNorthern Africa and the Sahelcarnelianheaddress - miscimitation hairafrican Artarts of Africaamber (fossil resin)costumeweavingglass beadscoral
About
In contrast with the silver head ornaments of the Imazighen peoples of Algeria and Morocco on display nearby, those of the Tekna and other Hassaniya-speaking peoples are made of finely knotted and twisted horsehair or synthetic hair that is decorated with beads in a variety of materials—ebony, silver, coral, glass, and shell— and semiprecious stones. Such ornaments blend into the hairlike wigs of those who wear them.
