Speaking with Beads by Jean Morris

Speaking with Beads by Jean Morris

The beadwork designs of the Zulu-speaking peoples of Southern Africa have evolved from a tradition of craft skills developed over the generations. But the products of this tradition are now fashionable worldwide. This volume presents jewellery, ornamental headdresses, capes, aprons, beaded panels and other decorative forms. The items frequently convey coded messages in a symbolic language, speaking of love, the origins of their makers or simply the influence of local styles. They also "speak" of ethnic identity and of religion, especially in the beadwork named after the Black Messiah, Isaiah Shembe, which uses white beads as a ground for ornate and exquisitely coloured geometrical patterns. And they speak a modern idiom of revitalized skills, whether as the contemporary art form of bead sculpture or as costume jewellery for global markets. The photographs, taken over a period of 20 years, offer a documentation of evolving traditions.

Eleanor Preston-Whyte is a social anthropologist whose interest in Zulu beadwork dates from the 1960s when she undertook ethnographic research in the burgeoning craft markets that were beginning to line the highways to the north and south of the city of Durban. She is the author of a number of publications on the role of craftwork in informal money making and, in particular, on the part it has played in enabling Zulu women to build their own homes and educate generations of black children.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780500277577
ISBN 10	0500277575
Title	Speaking with Beads
Author	Jean Morris
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Thames & Hudson Ltd
Year published	1994-09-05
Number of pages	96
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable