1899.86.14

Collection type

Object

Description

Round flat leather collar with semicircular projection, stitched with strings of red, black and white beads.

Long description

These neck ornaments are worn by women only, to look beautiful. They are made by women and worn both during ceremonies and without ceremonies. They are made of beads and well prepared hides.

Geographical reference

Tanzania, United Republic of

Africa > Eastern Africa > Tanzania, United Republic of

Kenya

Africa > Eastern Africa > Kenya

Cultural groups

Maasai

Person

Field collector Unknown Collector

PRM source Stevens Auction Rooms

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1899

Date collected

By 1899

Acquisition information

Purchased: 1899

Materials and processes

Material Bead, Material Animal Leather Skin, Process Beadwork

Dimensions

Diameter: max 280 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1899.86.14

Research and responses

'These neck ornaments are worn by women only, to look beautiful. They are made by women and worn both during ceremonies and without ceremonies. They are made of beads and well prepared hides.' The information used to describe this object has been reviewed through a process of consultation with Maasai representatives and community elders as part of The Maasai Living Cultures Project. Living Cultures started in 2017 and is a partnership between Maasai representatives from Tanzania and Kenya, the Pitt Rivers Museum and InsightShare, an Oxford-based NGO. The project is working to represent the history and narratives behind artefacts held in museum collections. Over the course of three years (2017, 2018, 2020) Maasai delegates have visited the museum to discuss how their culture is represented and how the Museum speaks about Maasai communities in its displays, databases, and education programmes.  [ThW [Living Cultures Project] 16/3/2021]

Search terms: Ornament, Neck Ornament