Currently not on view
Six hairpins,
late 19th–20th century
Mangbetu artist
1998-658.1-.6
Elaborate hairdos that were once the exclusive privilege of the ruling class eventually became common among the Mangbetu. Basketry frames and supplemental hair were used to form a funnel-like hairstyle that sloped back from the forehead at an angle. Hairpins made of materials such as wood, metal, and ivory were inserted in the hair both to secure it and to adorn the wearer. The flat, disk-like projections at the ends of these slender ivory pins would have remained visible, making the wealth of the wearer clear to all.
Information
Title
Six hairpins
Dates
late 19th–20th century
Maker
Mangbetu artist
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
1) l. 27.8 cm (10 15/16 in.)
2) l. 27.5 cm (10 13/16 in.)
3) l. 22.5 cm (8 7/8 in.)
4) l. 20.8 cm (8 3/16 in.)
5) l. 18.9 cm (7 7/16 in.)
6) l. 17.9 cm (7 1/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of John B. Elliott, Class of 1951
Object Number
1998-658.1-.6
Place Made
Africa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Materials
Techniques
Subject
John B. Elliott, New York, NY by 1987; Princeton University Art Museum, 1998
- "Selected checklist of objects in the collection of African art," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 58, no. 1/2 (1999): p. 77–83., p. 79
-
"The checklist of the John B. Elliott Bequest," Record of the Princeton University Art Museum 61 (2002): p. 49-99.
, p. 50 - Princeton University Art Museum: Handbook of the Collection (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007), p. 288 (illus.)
