Ear flap (Inchonito oo nkiyaa)

Maasai

A Bride's Ideal Perfection

A wedding is the moment for defining feminine beauty in many cultures. Among Maasai women, a bride is given all the ornaments she needs to begin her new life. The art in this case was created by Maasai women from the Merrueshi community of the Kaputiei section of Kenya. Their intent was to demonstrate how a bride's costume is a personalized collection of beadwork, stories and wishes for the future. Each is composed of cowhide, glass beads, wire and plastic dividers.

One aspect of Maasai aesthetics is immediately evident. Colors-and their order of placement-are carefully controlled, both due to their meaning and to the need for balance in the interaction of opposites. Certain colors are designated as strong or weak and must not be placed side by side. Blocks of color are often finished off with a black and white rim of beads, a frame that is associated with a need for a break or cut. Nothing is meant to be continuous or unbroken, because mixture is a fact of life and needs to be recognized in the patterns. Underlying symbolism in colors are: blue as a reference to the sky and the one god, Enkai; green for the grass that feeds their beloved herds of cattle; and white as the color of milk from livestock.

To learn more about the unique exchange that inspired this collection, and check in with the women whose names appear next to their creations, please consult seattleartmuseum.org.

Cowhide, glass beads, and sisal twine

7 x 2 x 3/8 in. (17.8 x 5.1 x 1 cm)

General Acquisition Fund

2000.12.9.1

Now on view at the Seattle Art Museum

Resources

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, A Maasai Community Adorns a Bride, May 31, 2001 - Mar. 1, 2005.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Art from Africa: Long Steps Never Broke a Back, Feb. 7 - May 19, 2002 (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Oct. 2, 2004 - Jan. 2, 2005; Hartford, Connecticut, Wadsworth Atheneum, Feb. 12 - June 19, 2005; Cincinnati, Ohio, Cincinnati Art Museum, Oct. 8, 2005 - Jan. 1, 2006; Nashville, Tennessee, Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Jan. 27 - Apr. 30, 2006 [as African Art, African Voices: Long Steps Never Broke a Back]). Text by Pamela McClusky. No cat. no., pp. 273-5, reproduced pl. 104.

Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Lessons from the Institute of Empathy, Mar. 31, 2018 - ongoing.

Seattle Art Museum respectfully acknowledges that we are on Indigenous land, the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people. We honor our ongoing connection to these communities past, present, and future.

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