Enquiry about object: 4318
Beaded Necklace
Naga People, India/Burma 19th-early 20th century
length: 58cm, weight: 185g
Provenance
private collection, London.
This superb necklace of five strands of marigold-yellow, barrel-shaped tile glass beads is from the Naha people of Eastern India and Western Burma. Most probably it is from the Konyak tribe. Wear and age have given the beads a natural encrustation and mottling.
The ends are of woven cotton leading to a shell fastener.
The Konyak are considered to be the best craftsmen among all the Naga groups; their jewellery being among the most creative and decorative.
|The example here is stable, robust and very wearable. It has a fine patina and clear age.
References
Barbier, J. P., Art of Nagaland: The Barbier-Müller Collection, Geneva, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1984.
Jacobs, J., The Nagas: Hill Peoples of Northeast India, Thames & Hudson, 1990.
Saul, J.D., The Naga of Burma: Their Festivals, Customs and Way of Life, Orchid Press, 2005.
Sherr Dubin, L., The Worldwide History of Beads, Thames & Hudson, 2009.
Shilu, A., Naga Tribal Adornment: Signatures of Status and Self, The Bead Museum, Washington, 2003.
