Necklaces with Amber Beads and Loose Beads
Dublin Core
Title
Necklaces with Amber Beads and Loose Beads
Place Made
Guinea
Description
164 total beads. 2 strands of 30, 1 strand of 20, 1 strand of 32 and 52 loose beads.
Among certain cultures in Africa, wealth is shown primarily through personal dress and ornamentation. This is particularly the case with pastoralist cultures; being nomadic, any displays of status must be portable by necessity. Personal displays of amber nuggets and beads, such as the Stoneman Collection amber beads, are typical of ornamentation worn by such cultures as the Labe, the Peul, and the Fulani.
The Labe, and the Peul, and the Fulani are so closely related that they are considered by many scholars to be indistinguishable, and those peoples are often grouped together under the title of traditional Fulani cultures (who are distinct from the Islamic Fulani or the Islamic Hausa-Fulani). All together, the traditional Fulani form the largest pastoralist cultural group in the world, numbering around seven million people and spreading across all of northern Africa.
Among the Fulani, women take particular care of their appearance in public. Traditionally, Fulani women are known for their elaborate hairstyles, their colorful beaded, woven wire, and woven wheat jewelry, and especially for their flamboyant gold and amber jewelry. They wear large, polished amber beads and great polished nuggets of amber in their hair, as well as heavy necklaces of amber beads. The Fulani also sometimes wear large amber labrets, or lip plugs. While the considerable weight of all of this ornamentation, and of the gold and amber particular, tends to restrict movement, Fulani women consider their personal displays to be an honor. In Fulani culture, the women’s elaborate hairstyle and jewelry display not only her own status, but also the status of her family.
Research by Holly Higgins, 2008, Missouri State University Student. Mentor: Dr. Billie Follensbee
Among certain cultures in Africa, wealth is shown primarily through personal dress and ornamentation. This is particularly the case with pastoralist cultures; being nomadic, any displays of status must be portable by necessity. Personal displays of amber nuggets and beads, such as the Stoneman Collection amber beads, are typical of ornamentation worn by such cultures as the Labe, the Peul, and the Fulani.
The Labe, and the Peul, and the Fulani are so closely related that they are considered by many scholars to be indistinguishable, and those peoples are often grouped together under the title of traditional Fulani cultures (who are distinct from the Islamic Fulani or the Islamic Hausa-Fulani). All together, the traditional Fulani form the largest pastoralist cultural group in the world, numbering around seven million people and spreading across all of northern Africa.
Among the Fulani, women take particular care of their appearance in public. Traditionally, Fulani women are known for their elaborate hairstyles, their colorful beaded, woven wire, and woven wheat jewelry, and especially for their flamboyant gold and amber jewelry. They wear large, polished amber beads and great polished nuggets of amber in their hair, as well as heavy necklaces of amber beads. The Fulani also sometimes wear large amber labrets, or lip plugs. While the considerable weight of all of this ornamentation, and of the gold and amber particular, tends to restrict movement, Fulani women consider their personal displays to be an honor. In Fulani culture, the women’s elaborate hairstyle and jewelry display not only her own status, but also the status of her family.
Research by Holly Higgins, 2008, Missouri State University Student. Mentor: Dr. Billie Follensbee
Century
20th
Medium
Sculpture
Materials
Amber
Provenance
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Stoneman
Acession Number
1985.49
Accession Year
1985
Photo Number
20150044