Description
When wild game was still plentiful in the region, real animal claws would have been used to punctuate beaded prestige necklaces. Lion-claw necklaces were the exclusive property of royalty while the bone imitations were owned and worn by high-ranking individuals of lesser status. Large red glass beads were also reserved for the Nguni elite in the period before the destruction of the Zulu kingdom in 1879.
Provenance
Nelly Van den Abbeele, Brussels; Christie's, Paris, 2003; Axis Gallery, New York, 2003 to 2005
Accession Number
2010.231
Medium
Glass beads, bone, and sinew
Dimensions
Overall: 38.1 cm (15 in.)
Classification
Jewelry
Credit Line
Gift of Dori and Daniel Rootenberg in memory of Estelle Rosenberg