Full Description
South African beadwork has a rich and diverse history and is abundantly represented in the beaded art pieces in the Wits Art Museum (WAM) collection. some works date back to the 4th century C.e but most date from the 19th to the 21st centuries. Currently numbering over 9 000 items, the three major collecting areas of classical, historical and contemporary African artworks are broad in their geographical range and deep in some local areas of specialisation.
Paying homage to this collection, Beadwork, Art and the Body is a compilation of essays by scholars who have researched and written about the traditions, practices and aesthetic forms of beadwork in southern Africa. the book covers an expansive history of beadwork in south Africa from the 19th century to the contemporary moment. the artists and the beadwork featured range from sotho-, tsonga-, Xhosa- and Zulu-speakers, ending with a focus on fashion designer Laduma ngxokolo, whose work has been inspired by Xhosa beadwork. Questions of ethnic affi liation and beadwork patterns are explored in relation to the different aesthetic forms of beadwork and its use as a marker of identity and status within and beyond communities.
Contents
Preface: Loyiso Nongxa; Foreword: Bhekizizwe Peterson; Introduction:The art of beadwork: The Wits art museum (WAM) collections by Anitra Nettleton; 19th Century beaded histories: Tracing inventions of tradition through the photographic image by Anitra Nettleton; Mantle for royalty: The beadwork of the Nongoma region by Carol Boram Hayes; Beadwork of the followers of Isaiah Shembe: Continuity and change by Juliette Leeb du-Toit; Histories of South Sotho beadwork by David Riep; Beads and tradition among Tsonga-speakers of Limpopo and Mpumalanga by Rayda Becker; 'A new chapter for Xhosa beadwork': MaXhosa by Laduma and Laduma Ngxokolo's promotion of a Xhosa heritage by Christopher Richards; In conversation with Esther and Sophie Mahlangu, 'Master' beadworkers with Helene Smuts and Petrus Mahlangu.
