Tekna
Laayoune, Western Sahara
Northern Africa and the Sahel
Head Ornament
INV-2018
Tekna
Laayoune, Western Sahara
Northern Africa and the SahelAfter 1960
teknaArts of Africaafrican ArtNorthern Africa and the Sahelheaddress - miscarts of Africa
Date
After 1960
Medium
Nylon and polypropylene hair, amber, coral, shell, silver, carnelian, and glass beads
Dimensions
62.3 × 26.7 × 19.1 cm (24 1/2 × 10 1/2 × 7 1/2 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Alsdorf Foundation - James and Marilynn Alsdorf Acquisition Fund
In contrast with the silver head ornaments of the Imazighen peoples of Algeria and Morocco on display nearby, those of the Tekna and other Hassaniya-speaking peoples are made of finely knotted and twisted horsehair or synthetic hair that is decorated with beads in a variety of materials—ebony, silver, coral, glass, and shell— and semiprecious stones. Such ornaments blend into the hairlike wigs of those who wear them.
Also notable
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