id: 168427
accession number: 2010.206
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2010.206
updated: 2023-03-22 14:08:05.364000
Under apron (iinkciya), 1800sā1900s. Africa, Southern Africa, South Africa, Xhosa-style (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: 1800sā1900s
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-style (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
The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects from Southern Africa. 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
The Language of Beauty in African Art. 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: 2010ā
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
Women made beaded "aprons" like this to wear under 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
Cleveland Museum of Art. The CMA Companion: A Guide to the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2014.
page number: Mentioned and reproduced: P. 41
url:
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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