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), 1800s–1900s. 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: 1800s–1900s creation date earliest: 1800 creation date latest: 1999 current location: creditline: Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Fund copyright: --- 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: --- CREATORS --- 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: --- 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. --- 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 --- 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: --- 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. --- RELATED WORKS --- 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: --- 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