The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2024

Neckpiece with panel (umphapheni)

Neckpiece with panel (umphapheni)

1800s–1900s
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The seed beads that make up this neckpiece were imported to southern Africa by European traders who tailored their wares to local tastes and color preferences; beads came first from Venice and Murano, and later from Bohemia in the twentieth century.

Description

Consisting of a tasseled length attached to a rectangular panel joined by metal buttons, this neckpiece (umphapheni) was likely worn along with waistbands and headpieces with the same color scheme and patterns. Joined together using stitches and zig-zag patterns popular around the turn of the 20th century, glass beadwork was heavy to wear. The fringe—typical of Zulu-style Northern Nguni beadwork—added additional weight. The imported glass beads testify to centuries of trade connections between southern Africa and Europe, while the brass buttons—probably drawn from a British soldier’s uniform—allude to the Anglo-Zulu conflicts of the 1800s.
  • 2005
    Private collection, United Kingdom
    ?–2010
    (Jacaranda Tribal LLC, New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art)
    2010–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • “Exhibitions through November 2022.” Cleveland Art: Cleveland Museum of Art Members Magazine vol. 62, no. 3 (September 2022): 13. Reproduced: P. 13.
  • The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects from Southern Africa. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 17, 2011-February 26, 2012).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, (4/16/11-2/26/12); "The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects from Southeast Africa" cat. no. 71
  • {{cite web|title=Neckpiece with panel (umphapheni)|url=false|author=|year=1800s–1900s|access-date=28 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.207