id:			168427
accession number:	2010.206
share license status:	CC0
url:			https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.206
updated:		2022-05-10 09:00:58.370000

Under apron (iinkciya), 1800s-1900s. Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Xhosa (South Nguni) maker. Leather, glass beads, and sinew; overall: 34 x 18 x 2.5 cm (13 3/8 x 7 1/16 x 1 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund 2010.206

title:				Under apron (iinkciya)
title in original language:	
series:				
series in original language:	
creation date:			1800s-1900s
creation date earliest:		1800
creation date latest:		1999
current location:		
creditline:			Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund
copyright:			

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culture:	Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Xhosa (South Nguni) maker
technique:	Leather, glass beads, and sinew
department:	African Art
collection:	African Art
type:		Garment
find spot:	
catalogue raisonne: 

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CREATORS

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measurements: Overall: 34 x 18 x 2.5 cm (13 3/8 x 7 1/16 x 1 in.)
state of the work:	
edition of the work: 	

support materials:


inscriptions:

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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS

	title:		The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects from Southern Africa
	opening date:   2011-04-17T00:00:00
	<i>The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects from Southern Africa</i>. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 17, 2011-February 26, 2012).

	title:		The Language of Beauty in African Art
	opening date:   2022-04-03T04:00:00
	<i>The Language of Beauty in African Art</i>. Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX (April 3-July 31, 2022) https://kimbellart.org/exhibition/language-beauty-african-art; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (organizer) (November 10, 2022-February 27, 2023) https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9344/the-language-of-beauty-in-african-art.

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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS

* Cleveland Museum of Art, (4/16/11-2/26/12); "The Art of Daily Life:  Portable Objects from Southeast Africa" cat. no. 72

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PROVENANCE

	Maurice Joy, London, England
	date: dates unknown
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	Kevin Conru, Brussels, Belgium
	date: 2006
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	(Jacaranda Tribal Art Gallery, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
	date: 2010
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


	The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
	date: 2010–
	footnotes: 	
	citations: 	


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fun fact: 
Women made beaded "aprons" like this to wear <em>under</em> their clothes on festive occasions in the nineteenth century; expensive imported beads were a sign of wealth and status.

digital description: 


wall description: 
This is an exquisite example of a rare type of swallowtail-shaped apron worn by young female initiates until the mid-19th century. On the upper portion, the black beads were applied in such a way that they can be read as a human face or even as a full figure. In fact, the overall form of the apron can be viewed as representing the lower torso and legs of a woman with a neatly marked pubic region.
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RELATED WORKS

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CITATIONS

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IMAGES

web:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.206/2010.206_web.jpg
print:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.206/2010.206_print.jpg
full:	https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2010.206/2010.206_full.tif