Umphapheni (Neck Ornament)

Although beaded adornment using many materials existed in southern Africa well before contact with Europeans, elaborate glass beadwork made with small, uniform “seed beads” emerged with exposure to European trade beads and sewing techniques. By sewing beads together, Zulu women developed a new artistic tradition of making “bead fabric,” which often replaced clothing made from skins or cloth.

Different color and pattern combinations form a visual language that can identify the wearer’s ethnic group, gender, social status, romantic attachments, or other personal messages. This was a particularly important means of marking identity in the shifting social landscape of nineteenth- and twentieth-century South Africa. Today, wearing beadwork continues to be a means of self-expression throughout southern Africa.