The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 13, 2025
Necklace (amazipho)
1800s
Overall: 38.1 cm (15 in.)
Location: Not on view
Did You Know?
Large red glass beads like the ones in this necklace were reserved for the Nguni elite.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.- Nelly Van den Abbeele, Brussels; Christie's, Paris, 2003; Axis Gallery, New York, 2003 to 2005
- Christie's. "Arts d'Afrique. Collection de Madame Van den Abbeele," Paris, June 12, 2003, lot 121; Pemberton, John, III. African Beaded Art: Power and Adornment, exh. cat. Northampton, Massachusetts: Smith College Museum of Art, 2008, vii (detail) and cat. 127.
- The Art of Daily Life: Portable Objects From Southeast 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. 67
- {{cite web|title=Necklace (amazipho)|url=false|author=|year=1800s|access-date=13 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2010.231