Mudpack coiffure (emedot)

Date20th century

Label TextSculpted hair is a common sight among East African pastoralists. Karamajong men are expected to create a unique hairstyle that will remain theirs alone for the rest of their life. Friends mix hair with clay and spread it over the man's head. They use a toothed comb to create stippled lines and add highly valued ostrich feathers if their friend warrants such status. This example is actually a wig, made of hair shorn from the head of an abundantly-adorned man and then offered for sale.

Object number81.17.986

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, African Panoplies: Art for Rulers, Traders, Hunters, and Priests, Apr. 21 - Aug. 14, 1988.Published ReferencesBurt, Eugene C., East African Art in the Collection of the Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1985, no. 10, p. 17

Credit LineGift of Katherine White and the Boeing Company

Dimensions9 1/4 x 6 7/8 x 9 1/2 in. (23.5 x 17.5 x 24.1 cm)

MediumFeathers, human hair, fibers, metal, and pigment