Woman’s Skirt or Cape (Olkila)

MaasaiWW-1900-050031

1900·Animal hide, glass and plastic beads, and pigment·102.9 × 113.1 × 2 cm (40 1/2 × 44 1/2 × 3/4 in.)

<p>A woman would have worn this garment for everyday occasions as well as important ceremonies. It features a style that has long been out of fashion. The geometric designs in the beaded stripes, diagonal lines, and trim—especially the large zigzags that create a leafy vein-like effect— appear on the most elaborately decorated skirts<br>or capes that survive from this region. The use of hide is especially symbolic for the Maasai people, for whom cattle are of paramount significance and represent wealth and wellness.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1900
Medium: Animal hide, glass and plastic beads, and pigment
Dimensions: 102.9 × 113.1 × 2 cm (40 1/2 × 44 1/2 × 3/4 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Maasai

Artist

Maasai

The Maasai are an Eastern Nilotic ethnic group native to northern, central and southern regions of Kenya including northern Tanzania, near the African Great Lakes region. Their native language is the Maasai language, a Nilotic language related to Dinka, Kalenjin and Nuer. A branch within the broader Nilo-Saharan language family. Except for some elders living in rural areas, most Maasai people speak the official languages of Kenya and Tanzania—Swahili and English.

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