1996.52.1

Collection type

Object

Description

Marriage belt made of strung beads and coins.

Long description

Marriage belt made of strung beads and coins. The part of the belt that goes round the waist is made of strung red, green, black, yellow and blue beads. The red and blue beads are larger than the other beads. The belt is fastened by a copper chain loop and a white plastic button. Hanging off the belt are several individual strings of beads. The strings are in blocks of one colour beads - green, red, dark blue, black, yellow and white. These are attached to the main belt at the top and at the bottom each string is attached to a ?copper coin. The coins have a hole in the centre. A copper chain has been threaded through the centre of each coin and attached to either end of the belt. There are 102 coins, all East African one cent pieces with the following dates: 1922, 1924, 1927, 1930, 1935, 1942, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957. [MdeA]

Geographical reference

Kenya

Africa > Eastern Africa > Kenya

Person

Field collector Elizabeth June Ferris

PRM source Elizabeth June Ferris

Date / Period

Date made: Circa 1957

Date collected

1957 - 1981

Acquisition information

Donated: 11/12/1996

Materials and processes

Material Bead, Material Copper Metal, Material Metal, Material Plastic Synthetic, Material Yarn, Process Beadwork, Process Strung, Process Recycled

Dimensions

Length: max 780 mm, Width: max 83 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1996.52.1

Search terms: Bead, Ornament, Marriage, Clothing, Trade, Coin, Waist Ornament, Belt, Chain, Button