Necklaces (Imankeek)

Description

This collar is made of three separate necklaces stacked together. It is worn in combination with other beaded jewelry, such as headbands and bracelets. The colorful beads signal wealth, status, and good health. Girls and married women wear imankeek during dances that make the jewelry rhythmically flap up and down. The pieces shown here highlight the symbolic triad of colors used in historical Maasai beadwork: white, red, and blue.

Provenance

Amyas Naegele Fine Art Bases, New York; sold to Michael R. Mack, Atlanta, 2024 [email correspondence between Mack and Costa Petridis, Mar. 22, 2024, and documentation from Amyas Naegele Fine Art Bases; copies in curatorial object file]; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 2024.

Necklaces (Imankeek)

Maasai

20th century

Accession Number

273611

Medium

Beads and wire

Dimensions

overall: 40.1 × 38.8 × 2 cm (15 3/4 × 15 1/4 × 3/4 in.)

Classification

necklace

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Gift of the Michael R. Mack Collection