Full details of each lot are displayed, except the lot number, estimate and price. You must be a subscriber to view lot numbers, estimates and prices.
Four Tsonga bead Aprons,…
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Sydney
Date:
8-Oct-2023
Lot No.
***
Description:
Four Tsonga bead Aprons, Southern Africa, with geometric bead decoration, in tones of blue white, red, green and yellow, 9 cm x 12 cm, 22 cm x 23 cm, 24 cm x 26 cm and 17 cm x 23 cm, together with a Zulu people bead necklace (5). Other notes: decorated with a triad of blue, red and white beads in a checkerboard design, these aprons exemplifies how Tsonga women of the Zambezi valley combined these three colours - each colour relates to a different aspect of Tsonga life and culture. The colour white - widely used in initiation ceremonies - evoked the 'Shades' or ancestor spirits. The bodies of young Tsonga women were smeared with red ochre pigment. Originally related to the Zulu people, the Tonga practiced a rain cult, which May explain their use of dark blue.
Estimate:
***
Price:
***
Category:
Unclassified